Vest Financial LLC Acquires 27,208 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 73.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 64,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 27,208 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $1,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in BCE by 217.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in BCE by 1,147.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

BCE Stock Down 0.4%

BCE opened at $21.77 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $36.17. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.23. The company has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a PE ratio of 181.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.61.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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