BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Sold by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 47.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 32,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,287 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $87,643,000. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 1,393,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,270,000 after acquiring an additional 583,366 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of BCE by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 20,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 3,690 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,878,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $368,073,000 after purchasing an additional 411,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,504,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

BCE Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $22.74 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.62 and a 12-month high of $36.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.51. The company has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a PE ratio of 189.48, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.25%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,291.67%.

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.