HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 24,671 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 41.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,671 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 911,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $21,532,000 after buying an additional 63,763 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 93.6% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter valued at $8,233,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter worth $1,239,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BCE Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:BCE 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm 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. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.86. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.87 and a 1 year high of $36.17.

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BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.14%. 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 weighed in on BCE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed 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, seven have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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.