Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Purchases 1,798,427 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 3,355.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 1,798,427 shares during the quarter. BCE accounts for about 0.6% of Pathway Financial Advisers LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC owned about 0.20% of BCE worth $64,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 0.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of BCE by 12.0% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $273,553,000 after buying an additional 905,857 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 23.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $178,677,000 after buying an additional 1,061,488 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,068,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $163,932,000 after acquiring an additional 21,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $115,379,000 after acquiring an additional 186,659 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

BCE Trading Down 0.7 %

BCE stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.23. The company had a trading volume of 624,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,187,774. The stock has a market cap of $29.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.40 and a 200-day moving average of $33.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. BCE Inc. has a one year low of $31.13 and a one year high of $41.77.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.10%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Research analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.729 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.05%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is currently 185.53%.

About BCE

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.