Stephens Inc. AR Raises Stock Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE – Get Rating) (TSE:BCE) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,635 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners purchased a new stake in BCE in the second quarter worth $41,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in BCE in the second quarter worth $50,000. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BCE in the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in BCE by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. 42.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BCE. TD Securities decreased their target price on BCE from C$65.00 to C$64.00 in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on BCE in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. CIBC raised their target price on BCE from C$62.00 to C$64.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from an “outperform market weight” rating to a “sector perform market weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on BCE from C$66.00 to C$64.00 in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.18.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,337,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,234,442. The firm has a market cap of $39.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 0.60. BCE Inc. has a one year low of $39.88 and a one year high of $59.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.713 per share. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.53%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 125.97%.

About BCE

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BCE, Inc is a telecommunications and media company, which engages in the provision of communication services to residential, business, and wholesale customers. It operates through the following segments: Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline, and Bell Media. The Bell Wireless segment covers integrated digital wireless voice and data communications products and services to residential and business customers.