Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 29,287 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC reduced its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 47.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 29,287 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $760,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in BCE by 6.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,352 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $802,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in BCE by 9.0% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 60,123 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,096,000 after purchasing an additional 4,970 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in BCE by 180.4% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 47,459 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 30,532 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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BCE Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE BCE traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.31. 4,608,975 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,776,818. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.95. The stock has a market cap of $19.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 177.54, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $36.17.

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

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE's payout ratio is currently 2,291.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BCE shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.