Intact Investment Management Inc. Has $54.52 Million Position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 22.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,374,910 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 429,640 shares during the period. BCE makes up about 1.9% of Intact Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Intact Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of BCE worth $54,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 108,040.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 5,402 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 154.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 52,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,206,000 after buying an additional 31,607 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at $8,233,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in BCE by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,878,904 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $368,073,000 after buying an additional 411,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 114.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,548,165 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,384,000 after buying an additional 825,098 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:BCE traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $21.98. 3,665,005 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,033,766. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $21.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.84. The firm has a market cap of $20.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.61. BCE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve 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.

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

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.65%. BCE's payout ratio is 488.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BCE. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Scotiabank raised BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.