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

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 74.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 89,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 257,021 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $2,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 220,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,686,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 6.8% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 2.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 113,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,952,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of BCE by 10.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the third quarter valued at about $262,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $22.53 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. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.87 and a 1 year high of $36.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.31. The firm has a market cap of $20.76 billion, a PE ratio of 187.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. Equities analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.