Marshall Wace LLP Reduces Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Marshall Wace LLP reduced its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 35.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,281 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in BCE were worth $798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 217.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in BCE by 1,147.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of BCE by 67.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $22.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $36.17. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.48 billion, a PE ratio of 185.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. On average, research analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.54%. BCE’s payout ratio is 2,291.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on BCE shares. National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. National Bank Financial raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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.