TD Private Client Wealth LLC Sells 82,079 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

TD Private Client Wealth LLC decreased its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 89.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 82,079 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of BCE by 217.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of BCE by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the third quarter worth about $51,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BCE. National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

BCE Price Performance

BCE opened at $22.53 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $20.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 187.71, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.31. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.87 and a 12-month high of $36.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 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%. Equities analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,291.67%.

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.