Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. Takes Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in BCE by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,928,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,615,000 after purchasing an additional 109,866 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of BCE by 57.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,318,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $88,908,000 after acquiring an additional 843,626 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 29,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 54.2% in the third quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 86,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,307,000 after purchasing an additional 30,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth about $603,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. CIBC raised shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. TD Securities cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Argus lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.00.

BCE Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BCE traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $32.53. 677,723 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,522,923. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.65. BCE Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.82 and a 52-week high of $48.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.56. The firm has a market cap of $29.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.742 dividend. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 174.56%.

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.