BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Purchased by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 239.9% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in BCE during the first quarter worth $85,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE:BCE opened at $33.33 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.13 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $30.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.35.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 7.53%. Equities analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.738 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.86%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 201.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. CIBC raised BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.25.

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.