Guggenheim Capital LLC Acquires 22,833 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 99.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,784 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 22,833 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $1,061,000 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. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in BCE by 1,147.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake 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 valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on BCE. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $39.00 target price 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.

BCE Price Performance

BCE traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $21.81. 1,714,829 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,802,212. The company's 50-day moving average is $22.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.97. The company has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 181.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. 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 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $36.17.

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

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.77%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,291.67%.

BCE 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.