BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Bought by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,013 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in BCE by 217.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in BCE by 67.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $23.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.23 billion, a PE ratio of 191.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $23.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.60. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.87 and a 1-year high of $36.17. 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 (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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. On average, research analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors 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 12.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 2,291.67%.

BCE 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.