BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Bought by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 137.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 175,031 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 101,223 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale's holdings in BCE were worth $3,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth $8,233,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of BCE by 85.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 36,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 16,794 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $24.43. The company had a trading volume of 3,158,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,352,195. BCE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $22.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.94, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.24 and a 200-day moving average of $22.72.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $5.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 488.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently 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 cut BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. National Bank Financial upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.