Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 594.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,821 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 119.6% in the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 37,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,286 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,565,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of BCE by 153.0% during the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 15,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 9,173 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in BCE by 85.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 36,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 16,794 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $22.72 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $23.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a PE ratio of 189.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. Analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.26%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,291.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BCE. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

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.