Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $59,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of BCE by 217.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% during the 4th 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. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in BCE in the third quarter worth $51,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in BCE in the third quarter worth $65,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew 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. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BCE. National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $23.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 197.38, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.74. 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 12-month low of $21.87 and a 12-month high of $36.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.