Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Has $878,000 Stock Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 26.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,325 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $878,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BCE. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 217.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth about $65,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BCE Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:BCE traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.78. 3,419,909 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,239,732. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.87 and a twelve month high of $36.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.51 and a 200 day moving average of $28.24. The stock has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a PE ratio of 206.53, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

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BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 11.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on BCE shares. Bank of America cut BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.00.

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.