Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. Has $298,000 Stock Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 83.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,835 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 66,796 shares during the period. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in BCE by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 640.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,560 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE BCE traded down $0.47 on Tuesday, hitting $23.36. 2,842,619 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,596,083. The company has a market cap of $21.31 billion, a PE ratio of 194.63, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $38.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.57 and a 200-day moving average of $29.26. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 11.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is presently 2,350.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.50.

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.