First Affirmative Financial Network raised its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE – Free Report) (TSE:BCE) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in BCE were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in BCE by 3,480.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in BCE by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its position in BCE by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BCE. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays cut their price objective on BCE from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.33.
BCE Stock Up 0.5 %
Shares of BCE stock opened at $33.02 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.13 and a twelve month high of $41.77. The stock has a market cap of $30.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.74 and a 200 day moving average of $33.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.
BCE (NYSE:BCE – Get Free Report) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.
BCE Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.729 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.83%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 186.16%.
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.
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