Capital Advisors Inc. OK Acquires 48,997 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 562,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,997 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings in BCE were worth $13,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 1,147.3% during 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 stake in BCE during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the third quarter worth about $65,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in BCE by 67.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its position in BCE by 640.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,560 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.50.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $22.88 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.92 and a 200-day moving average of $29.62. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.87 and a 1 year high of $38.21. 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 company has a market capitalization of $20.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 190.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57.

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, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,283.33%.

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.