M&T Bank Corp Decreases Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 35.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,429 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,378 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in BCE were worth $520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of BCE by 48.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in BCE by 4.8% during 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 buying an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at $17,271,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 25.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $127,282,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $9,522,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $23.69. 2,464,095 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,713,917. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 197.38, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.87 and a 12-month high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.82.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.76%. BCE's payout ratio is 2,291.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BCE shares. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.00.

BCE Company 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.