Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,214 shares during the quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $2,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 85.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 36,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 16,794 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,945,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,085,000 after buying an additional 584,290 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in BCE by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 911,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,532,000 after buying an additional 63,763 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $23.45 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.82. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 195.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 2,291.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BCE shares. National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.