US Bancorp DE Buys 31,607 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 154.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 31,607 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE's holdings in BCE were worth $1,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in BCE by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake 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 valued at $656,421,000 after buying an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,271,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of BCE by 25.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $127,282,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,522,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

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BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,263,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,268,427. The stock has a market cap of $22.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 203.28, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.06. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.87 and a 1-year high of $36.24.

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

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.42%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,291.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on BCE shares. Bank of America lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.

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.