Farther Finance Advisors LLC Acquires 3,560 Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 129.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,560 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in BCE by 217.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $21.73 on Friday. BCE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $36.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.93. The company has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.56, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.61.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. BCE had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 1.82%. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. National Bank Financial upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Scotiabank upgraded BCE from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.67.

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.