Swiss National Bank Has $4.91 Million Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 211,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in BCE were worth $4,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $17,271,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in BCE by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,282,000 after purchasing an additional 738,656 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,522,000. Finally, Nicola Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,989,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BCE shares. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

BCE Trading Down 0.8 %

BCE opened at $22.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $20.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 187.71, 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $23.59 and its 200-day moving average is $27.31. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.87 and a 1-year high of $36.17.

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 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%. Equities research analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.37%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,291.67%.

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.