317,193 Shares in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Bought by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 317,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,343,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 3.9% during the third quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in BCE by 6.8% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in BCE by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in BCE by 6.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of BCE by 0.5% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Up 1.0 %

BCE stock opened at $23.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 198.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $38.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $23.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.39.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. Sell-side analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 11.68%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,350.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BCE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

BCE Company 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.