Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 83.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 66,796 shares during the quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BCE. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798,427 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in BCE by 48.7% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,877,000 after buying an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in BCE by 4.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after buying an additional 864,472 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,271,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in BCE by 25.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,282,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BCE. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

BCE Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $23.86 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $38.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 198.79, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.68%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.