Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $790,000 Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 98.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,723,285 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at $436,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of BCE by 66.4% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,360,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,320,000 after acquiring an additional 543,320 shares in the last quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in BCE by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 1,378,053 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,940,000 after purchasing an additional 88,866 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new stake in BCE during the third quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 3,355.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798,427 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BCE. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.77. 5,371,238 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,081,711. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.16. 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 1-year low of $26.45 and a 1-year high of $41.77. The company has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 382.43, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.59.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.01%. This is a positive change from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4,228.57%.

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.