BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Stake Raised by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,878,904 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 411,911 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 1.74% of BCE worth $368,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BCE. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in BCE in the third quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in BCE by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,767 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 5,925 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in BCE by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in BCE by 14.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 3,352 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in BCE by 13.2% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,159 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

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BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE traded down $0.62 on Monday, reaching $22.10. 5,212,362 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,727,528. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.37 billion, a PE ratio of 184.13, 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 current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company's 50 day moving average is $23.48 and its 200-day moving average is $26.42. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.62 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. As a group, analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.61%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.