BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Acquired by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,666,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 122,913 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.29% of BCE worth $105,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in BCE by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in BCE by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 48,401 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 1.9% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. L.M. Kohn & Company raised its stake in shares of BCE by 2.3% in the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 13,629 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of BCE by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 32,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Stock Down 0.6 %

BCE stock traded down $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $32.22. 2,090,292 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,625,837. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $35.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.65. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.82 and a 12-month high of $48.38. The stock has a market cap of $29.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.742 dividend. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 174.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Argus cut BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, TD Securities lowered BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.00.

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.