Triasima Portfolio Management inc. Invests $1.06 Million in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Triasima Portfolio Management inc. bought a new position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 32,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $3,221,000. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in BCE by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in BCE by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 57,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,251,000 after buying an additional 2,818 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $243,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 4,046.0% during the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,075,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,363,000 after buying an additional 1,049,810 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Trading Down 0.6 %

BCE stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $35.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,351,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,237,896. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.58. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.13 and a 12 month high of $41.77.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.729 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 200.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BCE shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.33.

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.