Forte Capital LLC ADV Sells 37,353 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 18,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 2,863 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 217.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,343,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BCE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

BCE Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.04. The company has a market capitalization of $21.84 billion, a PE ratio of 199.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.63%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,350.00%.

BCE Company 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.