4,490 Shares in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Purchased by C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $104,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in BCE by 1,147.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in BCE by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 640.0% during the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 2,560 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE:BCE opened at $23.86 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.69 and a 200 day moving average of $29.46. The company has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 198.79, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.87 and a 1-year high of $38.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.68%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 2,350.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BCE shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Bank of America lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.50.

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.