Achmea Investment Management B.V. Cuts Stock Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. decreased its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,000 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s holdings in BCE were worth $2,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in BCE by 4.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $656,421,000 after buying an additional 864,472 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,271,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of BCE by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $127,282,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $9,522,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

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BCE Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of BCE stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $23.41. The company had a trading volume of 2,021,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,191,035. The company has a market cap of $21.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 195.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $36.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.67.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. On average, research analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE's payout ratio is 2,291.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BCE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.00.

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.