The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,317,291 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 832,210 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.36% of BCE worth $76,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its position in shares of BCE by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 13,655 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have issued reports on BCE. National Bank Financial upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.
View Our Latest Report on BCE
BCE Price Performance
BCE traded down $0.01 on Friday, reaching $21.44. The company had a trading volume of 6,612,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,829,020. BCE Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $36.17. The company has a market cap of $19.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 178.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.77.
BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. BCE's payout ratio is currently 2,291.67%.
BCE Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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