TD Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,196,547 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

TD Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,559,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,196,547 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $221,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BCE. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of BCE by 217.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in BCE by 1,147.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in BCE by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $22.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 187.83, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.22. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17.

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, beating 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, equities analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BCE. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.