73,602 Shares in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Bought by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 73,602 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,610,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BCE by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,725,614 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $500,376,000 after purchasing an additional 80,879 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $273,553,000 after purchasing an additional 905,857 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in BCE by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $178,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in BCE by 0.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,068,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $163,932,000 after purchasing an additional 21,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 5.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $115,379,000 after buying an additional 186,659 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of BCE traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,046,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,195,251. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $34.40 and its 200-day moving average is $33.73. BCE Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.13 and a 52-week high of $41.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.58.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. BCE had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 8.39%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.729 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.98%. BCE's payout ratio is 185.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on BCE. Cibc World Mkts upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.33.

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.