Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 15,239 Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 50.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,150 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 15,239 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $1,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 108,040.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 5,402 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in BCE by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,878,904 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $368,073,000 after purchasing an additional 411,911 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in BCE by 114.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,548,165 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,384,000 after purchasing an additional 825,098 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,075,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the 1st quarter worth approximately $248,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.21. 3,353,760 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,016,555. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $36.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.61. The business's 50-day moving average price is $22.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is currently 488.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on BCE. National Bank Financial raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Scotiabank upgraded BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Cibc World Mkts cut BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.67.

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.