First Bank & Trust Sells 24,170 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

First Bank & Trust reduced its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 70.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 24,170 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in BCE were worth $236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings 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 worth $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter worth about $65,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.50.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at $23.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 196.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.57. 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 $21.87 and a 1 year high of $38.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.11.

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

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.82%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,350.00%.

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.