Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Increases Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 978 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in BCE by 121.2% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in BCE by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in BCE during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in BCE by 321.0% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in BCE in the third quarter valued at $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BCE shares. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at $23.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion, a PE ratio of 331.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.56. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.87 and a 12-month high of $41.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $24.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.46.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.69%. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 4,028.57%.

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.