JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 738,656 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 738,656 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.40% of BCE worth $127,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of BCE by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in BCE during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in BCE by 321.0% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BCE shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Trading Up 0.3 %

BCE stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $23.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,865,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,579,633. The firm has a market cap of $21.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 332.29, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $26.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.18 and a twelve month high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE's payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

About BCE

BCE Inc, a communications company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Bell Communication and Technology Services, and Bell Media. The Bell Communication and Technology Services segment provides wireless products and services including mobile data and voice plans and devices; wireline products and services comprising data, including internet access, internet protocol television, cloud-based services, and business solutions, as well as voice, and other communication services and products; and satellite TV and connectivity services for residential, small and medium-sized business, government, and large enterprise customers.