BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Sold by Wealth Alliance

Wealth Alliance trimmed its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 886 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in BCE by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 120,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in BCE during the 1st quarter valued at $88,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 147.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Down 0.6 %

BCE stock opened at $32.22 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.82 and a fifty-two week high of $48.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.92. The stock has a market cap of $29.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.742 dividend. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 174.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Securities downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

BCE Company 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.