Tacita Capital Inc Sells 485 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Tacita Capital Inc lowered its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 485 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc’s holdings in BCE were worth $647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of BCE by 6.8% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of BCE by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of BCE by 6.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of BCE by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in BCE by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BCE. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

BCE Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE BCE opened at $23.37 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 194.75, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $36.94.

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 net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. On average, analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,283.33%.

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.