BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 98.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,723,285 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of BCE by 4.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after buying an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in BCE by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,553,000 after acquiring an additional 905,857 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in BCE by 0.4% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,068,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $163,932,000 after purchasing an additional 21,487 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of BCE by 5.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,379,000 after purchasing an additional 186,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 48.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $23.82 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.18 and a 1 year high of $41.77. The company has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 340.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $26.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.28.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.38%. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on BCE. National Bank Financial lowered shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

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.