Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Grows Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. grew its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 72.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,393,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 583,366 shares during the quarter. BCE makes up 1.2% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings in BCE were worth $32,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted 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 valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in BCE by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in BCE by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $22.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.78 billion, a PE ratio of 187.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.22. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. Research analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.36%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,291.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BCE. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

About BCE

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.