BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Acquired by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,933,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 221,174 shares during the quarter. BCE accounts for about 1.0% of National Bank of Canada FI’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. National Bank of Canada FI owned 1.75% of BCE worth $643,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 239.9% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the third quarter worth $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 120,000.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 147.7% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE BCE traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.60. The company had a trading volume of 2,259,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,339,421. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.12 and a 200 day moving average of $37.49. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.82 and a 1-year high of $48.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. BCE had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.70%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.738 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.79%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 204.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price target (down previously from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. CIBC raised shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.