BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Holdings Increased by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,933,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 221,174 shares during the quarter. BCE comprises 1.0% of National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in BCE were worth $643,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of BCE by 6.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,928,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,615,000 after acquiring an additional 109,866 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of BCE by 57.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,318,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $88,908,000 after acquiring an additional 843,626 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of BCE by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 29,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of BCE by 54.2% in the third quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 86,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,307,000 after acquiring an additional 30,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the third quarter worth approximately $603,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Stock Up 1.8 %

BCE stock traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,259,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,339,421. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company has a market capitalization of $30.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.56. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.82 and a 12 month high of $48.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.49.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. BCE had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.70%. On average, equities research analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.738 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. BCE’s payout ratio is 204.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. CIBC raised shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.