Mufg Securities Canada LTD. boosted its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 72.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,393,086 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 583,366 shares during the period. BCE makes up approximately 1.2% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. owned approximately 0.15% of BCE worth $32,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in BCE by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in BCE by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in BCE by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of BCE by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of BCE by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BCE shares. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on BCE
BCE Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE BCE traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.96. 2,134,044 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,705,532. The stock has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 191.29, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $23.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.87 and a 12-month high of $36.17.
BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
BCE Cuts Dividend
The firm 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 dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.14%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is currently 2,291.67%.
BCE Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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