PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 47.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 53,380 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in BCE by 93.6% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth $8,233,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,239,000. Finally, Nicola Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in BCE in the fourth quarter worth about $8,989,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BCE. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BCE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $23.45 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.87 and a twelve month high of $36.17. 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 cap of $21.61 billion, a PE ratio of 195.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.64 and its 200 day moving average is $27.87.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.88%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 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.