Signaturefd LLC Buys 16,794 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Signaturefd LLC grew its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 85.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 16,794 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in BCE by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in BCE by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 749 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America cut BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.8 %

BCE stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $22.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,257,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,716,915. The company's fifty day moving average price is $23.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.87 and a twelve month high of $36.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 187.71, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.37%. BCE's payout ratio is 2,291.67%.

BCE Company Profile

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.