BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Holdings Cut by Achmea Investment Management B.V.

Achmea Investment Management B.V. decreased its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 24,000 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in BCE were worth $2,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,282,000 after purchasing an additional 738,656 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 48.7% during 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 in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in BCE by 130.1% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,200,000 after buying an additional 165,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in BCE by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after buying an additional 52,966 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $23.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.92. BCE Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.87 and a 52-week high of $36.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 195.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. Equities research analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.88%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,291.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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.