Norges Bank Makes New $87.64 Million Investment in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,785,854 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $87,643,000. Norges Bank owned 0.41% of BCE at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BCE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 6.8% in the third 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. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of BCE by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in BCE by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BCE shares. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. National Bankshares reiterated 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 research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $22.10. The stock had a trading volume of 5,212,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,727,528. The firm has a market cap of $20.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 184.13, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.62 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.48 and a 200-day moving average of $26.42. 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 (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 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%. Equities research analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.61%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is presently 2,291.67%.

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.