Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 24.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 100,974 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 32,198 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in BCE were worth $2,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BCE. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in BCE by 217.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in BCE by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in BCE in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in BCE in the third quarter worth approximately $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE:BCE opened at $22.72 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 189.29, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.52. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.26%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,291.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BCE shares. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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.