Golden State Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 3,950 BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $92,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its position in shares of BCE by 6.1% in the third quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 8,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 1.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.50.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $22.14 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 184.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 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 52-week low of $21.87 and a 52-week high of $38.70.

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%. Equities research analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors 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 12.58%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,350.00%.

BCE Company 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.