BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Sold by Pathway Financial Advisers LLC

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lessened its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 97.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,803,937 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $1,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in BCE by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $656,421,000 after buying an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in BCE by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $127,282,000 after purchasing an additional 738,656 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in BCE by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 130.1% during the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,200,000 after acquiring an additional 165,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,192,000 after acquiring an additional 52,966 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,282,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,432,294. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $23.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.36. The stock has a market cap of $21.76 billion, a PE ratio of 198.79, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $38.14.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.68%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,283.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.50.

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.