Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $1.01 Million Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 520 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 166.1% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 47,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,540,000 after buying an additional 1,541 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC increased its position in BCE by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC now owns 35,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,151,000 after buying an additional 2,990 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in BCE by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 27,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 2.6% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $22.71 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.81. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $41.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.72 billion, a PE ratio of 324.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.98%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4,028.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

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.