Forte Capital LLC ADV Reduces Stock Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Forte Capital LLC ADV lowered its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 60.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 37,353 shares during the quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in BCE were worth $557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Creative Planning lifted its position in BCE by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 59,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,070,000 after acquiring an additional 3,372 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth about $253,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in BCE by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 19,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $684,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust acquired a new stake in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth about $338,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,610,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE:BCE opened at $23.95 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $38.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.04. 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 firm has a market cap of $21.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 199.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.63%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,350.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BCE shares. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

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.