National Bank of Canada FI Has $643.16 Million Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,933,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 221,174 shares during the period. BCE makes up about 1.0% of National Bank of Canada FI's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 1.75% of BCE worth $643,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in BCE by 8.0% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 216,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,245,000 after acquiring an additional 16,067 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of BCE by 0.6% during the third 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 last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in BCE by 102.3% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 30,612 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 15,480 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in BCE by 4.2% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 392,562 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,996,000 after buying an additional 15,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in BCE by 3.6% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,989 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE BCE traded up $0.61 on Friday, hitting $33.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,259,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,339,421. The company's 50-day moving average is $34.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.49. BCE Inc. has a one year low of $31.82 and a one year high of $48.24. The stock has a market cap of $30.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 7.53%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. On average, analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.738 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.79%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 204.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. CIBC raised shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. TD Securities downgraded shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down previously from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.00.

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.