Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. Has $3.99 Million Position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 67.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 173,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 69,777 shares during the quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $3,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of BCE by 217.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

BCE Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:BCE traded down $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $21.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,818,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,013,582. The firm has a market cap of $20.33 billion, a PE ratio of 83.83, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.61. 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's 50-day moving average price is $21.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.01. BCE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $36.17.

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

BCE Cuts Dividend

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

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.