Verition Fund Management LLC Buys 56,706 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 372.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 56,706 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $2,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in BCE by 3,480.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 121.2% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in BCE during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 321.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.13 on Thursday, reaching $26.97. 2,814,972 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,433,810. The firm's 50 day moving average is $30.65 and its 200-day moving average is $32.76. BCE Inc. has a one year low of $26.45 and a one year high of $41.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $24.60 billion, a PE ratio of 385.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.54.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

BCE Profile

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.