BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc.

TD Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,559,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,196,547 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. owned about 1.05% of BCE worth $221,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in 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 boosted 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 acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BCE. Bank of America downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE traded down $0.21 on Friday, hitting $22.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,134,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,705,532. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a PE ratio of 191.29, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. BCE Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.87 and a 52-week high of $36.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.59 and a 200 day moving average of $27.01.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its 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 net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,291.67%.

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.