SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Purchases New Shares in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 16,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $386,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position 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 valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in BCE by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in BCE by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in BCE by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in BCE by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $23.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.77 billion, a PE ratio of 196.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.41. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.87 and a 1 year high of $36.94.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. Analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 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 paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.80%. BCE’s payout ratio is 2,283.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on BCE shares. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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.