BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Acquired by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 78.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,279 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. grew its holdings in BCE by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its position in shares of BCE by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 8,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of BCE by 6.8% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in BCE by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in BCE by 6.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BCE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $22.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 184.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.87 and a 1 year high of $38.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.72.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued 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 12.58%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,350.00%.

About BCE

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.