Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Boosts Stake in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 460,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 49,435 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $10,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in BCE by 217.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC acquired a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.10 on Tuesday, reaching $21.98. 3,665,005 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,031,017. BCE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $21.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.84. The company has a market cap of $20.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.61.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. BCE's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. BCE's payout ratio is 488.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.67.

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.