BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Sold by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC cut its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 47.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,037 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,514 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of BCE by 6.8% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position 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 last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 6.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of BCE by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE BCE opened at $23.37 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.48. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $36.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $21.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 194.75, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. Equities research analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business 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 $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.92%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,283.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BCE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

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.