Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $989,000 Stock Holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 95.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $989,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,233,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 153.0% in the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 15,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 9,173 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at $6,565,000. Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 119.6% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 37,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 20,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 594.6% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 64,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after buying an additional 54,821 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Scotiabank raised BCE from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. National Bank Financial upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.67.

BCE Stock Down 1.6%

BCE stock opened at $23.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $22.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.15, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.61. BCE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.36 and a 200-day moving average of $22.74.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. BCE had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 1.82%. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.65%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 488.46%.

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.