Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 815,614 Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 13.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,844,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 815,614 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.74% of BCE worth $157,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BCE. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. WealthCollab LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of BCE by 67.1% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 77.2% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,891 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Trading Up 1.0%

BCE stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $25.37. The stock had a trading volume of 2,677,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,300,567. The firm has a market cap of $23.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. BCE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $36.17. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $23.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.83.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. BCE's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a yield of 565.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. BCE's payout ratio is 437.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on BCE. Scotiabank raised shares of BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Desjardins upgraded shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.