JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $18.31 Million Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 78.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 790,028 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,867,505 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.09% of BCE worth $18,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 60,123 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,096,000 after buying an additional 4,970 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in BCE by 97.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 6,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the 3rd quarter worth about $701,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE traded up $0.41 on Thursday, reaching $22.03. 400,114 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,781,119. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve month high of $36.17. The company has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 183.13, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.00 and a 200-day moving average of $25.74.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. On average, research analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

BCE Company 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.