British Airways Pensions Investment Management Ltd held its stake in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock at the end of the second quarter. British Airways Pensions Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in BCE were worth $2,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 0.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Camarda Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 0.5% in the second quarter. Camarda Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. AT Bancorp bought a new stake in BCE during the second quarter valued at $149,000. FNY Partners Fund LP bought a new stake in BCE during the first quarter valued at $168,000. Finally, Round Table Services LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the first quarter valued at $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.99% of the company’s stock.
Shares of BCE, Inc. (BCE) opened at 47.00 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $45.55 and its 200 day moving average is $44.82. The firm has a market cap of $42.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00 and a beta of 0.36. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.83 and a 12 month high of $49.03.
BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.02. BCE had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post $2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.30%.
Several research firms have weighed in on BCE. BidaskClub upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. Argus assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays PLC lifted their price target on shares of BCE from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity set a $60.00 price target on shares of BCE and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.17.
About BCE
BCE Inc is a communications company. The Company’s segments include Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline and Bell Media. Its Bell Wireless segment provides wireless voice and data communications products and services to its residential, small and medium-sized business and large enterprise customers across Canada.
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