PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 11,787 Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 19.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 48,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,787 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in BCE by 108,040.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,402 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in BCE by 114.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,548,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,384,000 after buying an additional 825,098 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,075,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in BCE in the first quarter valued at $248,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in BCE by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 249,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,787,000 after purchasing an additional 11,746 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at $24.38 on Monday. BCE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $36.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.62.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a yield of 565.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 437.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Desjardins upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Scotiabank raised BCE from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.67.

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.