HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 41.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 24,671 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of BCE by 217.6% in the fourth 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 during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in BCE by 1,147.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in BCE by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in BCE during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $23.15 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $23.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.16. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.87 and a 1-year high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 192.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its 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%. Equities research analysts expect 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. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,291.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.