Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Trims Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 24.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 372,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 122,566 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $8,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in BCE by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 73,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,586,000 after purchasing an additional 5,298 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the third quarter worth about $208,000. Lincluden Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of BCE by 6.9% in the third quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 1,378,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,940,000 after buying an additional 88,866 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 66.4% during the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,360,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,320,000 after buying an additional 543,320 shares during the period. Finally, Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BCE during the third quarter worth approximately $436,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $23.40 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 194.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.87 and a 1-year high of $37.33. 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 (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, 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%. Equities analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS 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. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,350.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BCE. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

BCE 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.