Berkeley Capital Partners LLC Sells 20,762 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Berkeley Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 53.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 20,762 shares during the period. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in 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 last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $23.41 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.64. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.58 billion, a PE ratio of 195.04, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.90%. BCE’s payout ratio is 2,291.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays reissued 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. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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.