Davis Rea LTD. Purchases Shares of 200,000 BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Davis Rea LTD. purchased a new position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 200,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,774,000. BCE accounts for about 2.4% of Davis Rea LTD.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BCE. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of 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. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in BCE by 1,147.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in BCE by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.62. The company had a trading volume of 2,595,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,248,943. The stock's 50-day moving average is $23.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 196.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. 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 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $36.94.

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BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.80%. BCE's payout ratio is 2,283.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BCE shares. Bank of America lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.00.

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.