Prospera Private Wealth LLC Acquires 1,794 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 7.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,794 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $914,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in BCE by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in BCE by 3.9% during the third quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its position in BCE by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 8,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in BCE by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 11,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $27.32 on Wednesday. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.51 and a 1 year high of $41.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 390.21, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.59.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 10.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 4,228.57%.

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.