BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Bought by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 594.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,041 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 54,821 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $1,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in BCE by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 6.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in BCE by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of BCE by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.

BCE Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:BCE traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $23.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,380,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,707,320. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $21.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 192.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.19. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $36.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE's payout ratio is currently 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.