Truist Financial Corp Sells 316,802 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Truist Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 80.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 316,802 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in BCE were worth $1,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted 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 purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,343,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,066 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter worth $104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Edward Jones lowered BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BCE currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.00.

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BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.21 on Monday, hitting $23.33. 1,227,245 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,263,160. The firm's 50 day moving average is $23.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.56. BCE Inc. has a one year low of $21.87 and a one year high of $36.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.50 billion, a PE ratio of 194.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.94%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 2,283.33%.

BCE Company 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.