Cumberland Partners Ltd Sells 3,418 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Cumberland Partners Ltd decreased its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,418 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in BCE were worth $518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798,427 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 5,036.0% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,842,000 after buying an additional 1,328,042 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in BCE by 23.8% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061,488 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in BCE by 12.0% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,553,000 after acquiring an additional 905,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its position in BCE by 66.4% during the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,360,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,320,000 after purchasing an additional 543,320 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $27.69 on Wednesday. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.11 and a 1 year high of $41.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $33.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 395.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.59.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 4,228.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BCE presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

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.