Davis Rea LTD. Purchases New Shares in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Davis Rea LTD. acquired a new position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 200,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,774,000. BCE makes up approximately 2.4% of Davis Rea LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of BCE during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the third quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $23.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 194.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.87 and a 1 year high of $37.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $23.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.72.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,350.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BCE. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.