BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,028,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 168,704 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.66% of BCE worth $139,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in BCE by 217.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake 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 buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BCE shares. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. 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. downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.00.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE:BCE traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.83. The stock had a trading volume of 4,466,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,285,615. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 206.88, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.87 and a twelve month high of $36.45.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.22%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,291.67%.

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.