Forsta AP Fonden Purchases 4,500 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 145,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in BCE were worth $4,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the first quarter worth $31,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 60.0% during the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BCE Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $35.40 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.13 and a 1-year high of $41.77. The company has a market cap of $32.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.87.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.729 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 204.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.33.

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.