BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Stock Position Cut by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 18.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,855 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 4.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after buying an additional 864,472 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in BCE by 12.0% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,553,000 after acquiring an additional 905,857 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in BCE by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061,488 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of BCE by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,068,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,932,000 after purchasing an additional 21,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,379,000 after purchasing an additional 186,659 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $23.16 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 330.86, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.90 and a 1-year high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.73%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

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.