Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $512,000 Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BCE. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of BCE by 1.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of BCE by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after buying an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in BCE by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $24.48 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.87 and a 12-month high of $36.94. The company has a market capitalization of $22.56 billion, a PE ratio of 203.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. As a group, analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.38%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on BCE shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

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.