BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) is Lincluden Management Ltd.'s 6th Largest Position

Lincluden Management Ltd. lifted its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,615,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 237,903 shares during the period. BCE accounts for about 4.5% of Lincluden Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Lincluden Management Ltd. owned about 0.18% of BCE worth $37,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of BCE by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $656,421,000 after buying an additional 864,472 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in BCE by 25.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $127,282,000 after acquiring an additional 738,656 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in BCE by 48.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of BCE by 130.1% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,200,000 after purchasing an additional 165,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 78.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 52,966 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.11. 2,128,163 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,320,102. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.87 and a 12-month high of $37.33. The business's 50-day moving average is $23.40 and its 200-day moving average is $28.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.30 billion, a PE ratio of 192.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS 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 predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is presently 2,350.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BCE shares. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.00.

BCE Profile

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.