BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,400 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $2,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 9,929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 1,429 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in BCE by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in BCE by 25.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,282,000 after acquiring an additional 738,656 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 55.9% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 12,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 4,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Logan Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 4.5% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 103,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after purchasing an additional 4,438 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE:BCE opened at $23.16 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $21.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 330.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.70. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.87 and a 1-year high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.73%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 4,028.57%.

BCE Company 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.