Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Increases Stock Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,863 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in BCE by 217.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in BCE by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at $23.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.40 and a 200-day moving average of $28.72. The company has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 194.96, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. 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 12-month low of $21.87 and a 12-month high of $37.33.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. As a group, equities analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.91%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,350.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BCE. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

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.