2,532 Shares in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Purchased by Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC

Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $59,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in BCE by 85.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 36,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 16,794 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,945,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,085,000 after buying an additional 584,290 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in BCE by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in BCE by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 911,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,532,000 after buying an additional 63,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in BCE by 93.6% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BCE Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $23.69 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $23.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.74. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $36.17. 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 $21.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 197.38, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,291.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BCE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.