Korea Investment CORP Has $393,000 Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 88.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 128,400 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in BCE were worth $393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BCE. Allworth Financial LP lifted 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. raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% during 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 lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on BCE. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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BCE Stock Up 0.3 %

BCE stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,186,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,717,588. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.58. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.62 and a 12 month high of $36.17. The company has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a PE ratio of 189.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.