Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 22.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,945,799 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,624,953 shares during the period. BCE makes up about 0.8% of Bank of Nova Scotia's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 2.19% of BCE worth $462,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 217.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 1,147.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted 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 acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. National Bank Financial raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.
View Our Latest Stock Report on BCE
BCE Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:BCE traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.31. 4,608,975 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,777,850. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.89. The firm has a market cap of $19.64 billion, a PE ratio of 177.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56.
BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS 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 predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.
BCE Cuts Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.08%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,291.67%.
About BCE
(
Free Report)
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.
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