BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) is Lincluden Management Ltd.’s 6th Largest Position

Lincluden Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,615,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 237,903 shares during the period. BCE accounts for 4.5% of Lincluden Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Lincluden Management Ltd. owned about 0.18% of BCE worth $37,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798,427 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in BCE by 48.7% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position 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 worth $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,271,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 valued at $127,282,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE:BCE opened at $24.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $22.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 200.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.87 and a twelve month high of $37.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,350.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.50.

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.