NTV Asset Management LLC Sells 2,735 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

NTV Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,735 shares during the quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in BCE by 0.6% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 48,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 1.9% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company raised its position in shares of BCE by 2.3% in the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 13,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of BCE by 0.6% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE traded up $0.61 on Friday, reaching $33.60. 2,259,640 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,339,421. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $30.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.56. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.82 and a 12 month high of $48.24.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. Equities analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.738 dividend. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 204.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BCE. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Securities lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. CIBC raised BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

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.