BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Holdings Lowered by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp lowered its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 55.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 550,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 699,078 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in BCE were worth $12,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of BCE by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,282,000 after purchasing an additional 738,656 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of BCE by 130.1% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,200,000 after purchasing an additional 165,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 52,966 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $23.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $21.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 194.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.19. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $38.14.

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

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.93%. 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 equities analysts have recently issued reports on BCE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.50.

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.