Essex Financial Services Inc. Raises Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth 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 lifted its position in BCE by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in BCE in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in BCE in the third quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its position in BCE by 640.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,560 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.61 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $21.54 billion, a PE ratio of 196.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.76 and a 200 day moving average of $29.50. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $38.14.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.80%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,350.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.50.

About BCE

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.