Public Sector Pension Investment Board Boosts Stock Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,469 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in BCE were worth $2,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the first quarter worth $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of BCE by 3,480.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $35.19 on Monday. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.13 and a 1 year high of $41.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $34.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.65.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2.2 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, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.729 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 204.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cibc World Mkts upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.67.

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.