Assetmark Inc. Has $1.52 Million Stock Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Assetmark Inc. lessened its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,330 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BCE. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of BCE by 3,480.0% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of BCE by 121.2% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 60.0% in the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research 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. Barclays decreased their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $26.83 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.46. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.78 and a fifty-two week high of $41.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.48 billion, a PE ratio of 383.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.59.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost 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.