BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Bought by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $131,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of BCE by 217.6% during the fourth 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. increased its position in BCE by 1,147.3% during the 4th 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 increased its position in BCE by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the third quarter worth $65,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.45 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $21.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 195.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.82. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. On average, analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.88%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,291.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BCE shares. Bank of America cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

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.