355,183 Shares in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 355,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,233,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in BCE by 217.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in BCE by 1,147.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in BCE during the third quarter valued at $51,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the third quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $22.72 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.46. The company has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 189.29, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.26%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,291.67%.

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.