Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 15,214 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,214 shares during the quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $2,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 1,147.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in 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 during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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BCE Stock Performance

BCE traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.72. The stock had a trading volume of 2,996,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,714,891. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.87 and a 1 year high of $36.17. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $23.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.60. The stock has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a PE ratio of 189.29, 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.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced 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 analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE's payout ratio is 2,291.67%.

About BCE

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.