C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Makes New Investment in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $104,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in BCE by 217.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in BCE by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in BCE in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in BCE in the third quarter worth about $65,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on BCE. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $23.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 196.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.57. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $38.06. 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 moving average is $23.41 and its 200-day moving average is $29.11.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued 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 return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. Equities research analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 11.82%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 2,350.00%.

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.