Intact Investment Management Inc. Acquires 213,500 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 34.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 835,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 213,500 shares during the quarter. BCE makes up approximately 1.3% of Intact Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $32,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 48,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in BCE by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company raised its stake in BCE by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 13,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in BCE by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 31,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. CIBC upgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Securities lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Argus lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE BCE traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $32.62. 1,477,945 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,492,673. The company’s 50-day moving average is $34.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.67. BCE Inc. has a one year low of $31.82 and a one year high of $48.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $29.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. On average, analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.742 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.10%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 174.56%.

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.