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

Cullen Capital Management LLC decreased its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 37.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,528,595 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,110,437 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.39% of BCE worth $81,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake 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. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the third quarter worth approximately $65,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of BCE by 67.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. Bank of America lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.

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BCE Stock Down 1.7 %

BCE stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $20.65. The stock had a trading volume of 2,288,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,756,220. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 172.04, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.25 and a 200 day moving average of $26.15. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $36.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.49%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.