BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Stake Cut by Gold Investment Management Ltd.

Gold Investment Management Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,947 shares during the quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in BCE were worth $2,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,945,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,085,000 after purchasing an additional 584,290 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 2,013 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 911,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,532,000 after acquiring an additional 63,763 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 93.6% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth $8,233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Bank of America cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BCE has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

BCE Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.45 on Monday. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $36.17. The company has a market cap of $21.61 billion, a PE ratio of 195.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.82.

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, topping 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 predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.88%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,291.67%.

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.