CIBC Asset Management Inc Sells 880,705 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

CIBC Asset Management Inc decreased its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,595,036 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 880,705 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.50% of BCE worth $106,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in BCE by 4.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 25.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,166,800 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lincluden Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 6.9% in the third quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 1,378,053 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,940,000 after acquiring an additional 88,866 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Thursday, hitting $23.57. 1,795,595 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,493,088. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.87 and a 1 year high of $38.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 196.38, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.15.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its 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 forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 2,350.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating on the stock. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones cut BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.50.

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.