Golden State Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $92,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in BCE by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in BCE in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in BCE in the third quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 640.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 2,560 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Down 5.9 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $22.14 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $24.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 184.49, a PEG ratio of 3.91 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 1-year low of $21.87 and a 1-year high of $38.70.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,350.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on BCE shares. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.50.

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.