Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $2.30 Million Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 51.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 106,428 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $2,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in 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. boosted its position in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of BCE by 67.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $22.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,336,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,704,062. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $23.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.86. 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 company has a market capitalization of $21.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 191.29, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.14%. BCE's payout ratio is currently 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.