TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Decreases Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. trimmed its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 45.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,384,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,150,581 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. owned about 0.15% of BCE worth $32,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in BCE by 217.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in BCE by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE:BCE traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.66. 2,636,796 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,292,000. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a PE ratio of 180.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve month high of $36.17. The stock's 50-day moving average is $22.86 and its 200-day moving average is $25.24.

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 for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.86%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.