BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 24.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,974 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 32,198 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp's holdings in BCE were worth $2,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BCE. Lincluden Management Ltd. grew its position in BCE by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 1,615,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,457,000 after acquiring an additional 237,903 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth about $104,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in BCE by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 18,401 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 2,863 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in BCE by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in BCE by 217.6% during 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 in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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BCE Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, hitting $22.54. 2,084,093 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,716,817. BCE Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.87 and a 52-week high of $36.17. 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 stock has a market cap of $20.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 187.83, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's 50-day moving average is $23.59 and its 200 day moving average is $27.31.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current 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 12.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating on the stock. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, BCE presently has a consensus 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.