Private Advisor Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Private Advisor Group LLC cut its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,861 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in BCE by 217.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 1,147.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in BCE by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BCE shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BCE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

BCE Stock Up 1.1 %

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

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

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 2,283.33%.

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.