Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Acquires 2,841 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 26.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,841 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 120,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in BCE by 147.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in BCE by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 2,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Trading Up 1.8 %

BCE stock opened at $33.60 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.61. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.82 and a fifty-two week high of $48.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced 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 16.70% and a net margin of 7.53%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. Analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.738 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 202.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BCE shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Argus downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Securities downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

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.