Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Has $472,000 Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,690 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in BCE were worth $472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,878,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $368,073,000 after acquiring an additional 411,911 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,504,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in BCE by 594.6% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 64,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 54,821 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 119.6% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 37,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $6,565,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $22.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a PE ratio of 191.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $36.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.07. 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 (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. Equities research analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,291.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

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.