Capital Advisors Inc. OK Has $13.04 Million Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 562,433 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 48,997 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK owned 0.06% of BCE worth $13,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BCE. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798,427 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of BCE by 48.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in BCE by 4.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $656,421,000 after acquiring an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth $17,271,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in BCE by 25.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $127,282,000 after acquiring an additional 738,656 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Trading Up 1.0 %

BCE stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,282,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,432,294. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a PE ratio of 198.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $38.14. 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 (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 2,350.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on BCE shares. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America cut BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.50.

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.