BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Stock Holdings Lifted by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 99.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,784 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,833 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $1,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings 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. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BCE currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.00.

BCE Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $22.25 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $36.17. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $22.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 185.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.52%. BCE's dividend 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.

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