Cullen Capital Management LLC Has $81.79 Million Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Cullen Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 37.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,528,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,110,437 shares during the quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $81,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in BCE by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of BCE by 25.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,282,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 78.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after buying an additional 52,966 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,522,000. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new position in BCE during the third quarter valued at about $3,094,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $22.74 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.52 and its 200-day moving average is $26.63. 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 52 week low of $21.62 and a 52 week high of $36.17. The company has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a PE ratio of 189.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.25%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of 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 assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.