FIL Ltd Has $609.47 Million Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

FIL Ltd lifted its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,292,783 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,322,474 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned about 2.88% of BCE worth $609,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in BCE by 67.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Trading Up 1.5 %

BCE stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.31. The stock had a trading volume of 4,608,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,777,850. The stock has a market cap of $19.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 177.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $23.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.89. BCE Inc. has a one year low of $20.28 and a one year high of $36.17.

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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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. On average, equities analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.08%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, National Bank Financial raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.