Barclays PLC Increases Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 145.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 295,190 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 174,728 shares during the period. Barclays PLC's holdings in BCE were worth $6,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of BCE by 217.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in BCE by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BCE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of 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. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. National Bank Financial raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.00.

BCE Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.15 on Tuesday, reaching $21.96. 845,012 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,794,572. The company has a market capitalization of $20.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 182.96, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The business's 50 day moving average price is $22.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.97. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve month high of $36.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 expect that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.69%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

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.