Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Buys New Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. bought a new stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 387,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,989,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in BCE by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in BCE by 6.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in BCE by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in BCE by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $23.37 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $36.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 194.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (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 analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,283.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BCE. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

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.