Koshinski Asset Management Inc. Buys 4,266 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 64.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,266 shares during the quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in BCE in the second quarter worth $25,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in BCE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in BCE by 120,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of BCE by 147.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $32.11 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $29.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.56. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.00 and a 12 month high of $48.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.742 dividend. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.24%. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 174.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Argus cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Barclays cut their target price on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Securities lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (down previously from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

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.