EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE – Free Report) (TSE:BCE) by 67.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,340 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $37,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth about $3,221,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in shares of BCE by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 31,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of BCE by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 198,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,834,000 after buying an additional 4,297 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of BCE by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 62,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,488,000 after buying an additional 22,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of BCE by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
BCE Stock Performance
BCE stock opened at $35.00 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.60. The company has a market cap of $31.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.13 and a fifty-two week high of $42.96.
BCE (NYSE:BCE – Get Free Report) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 16.88%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.
BCE Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.729 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 202.08%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts have commented on BCE shares. CIBC upgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.33.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on BCE
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.
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