BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Stock Holdings Boosted by Ossiam

Ossiam grew its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 37.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 102,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,140 shares during the quarter. Ossiam’s holdings in BCE were worth $2,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in BCE by 217.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 67.6% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on BCE shares. National Bank Financial upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

BCE Trading Up 1.8 %

BCE stock opened at $22.02 on Monday. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month 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 $20.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 183.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.44.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its 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 return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.65%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,291.67%.

BCE 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.