Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Reduces Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lowered its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,774 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BCE. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 171.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,284,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $168,736,000 after buying an additional 2,708,625 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BCE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,874,000. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in BCE by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 14,007,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $551,505,000 after buying an additional 2,217,262 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,840,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of BCE by 4,046.0% in the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,075,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,810 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $35.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.57. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.13 and a 1 year high of $42.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $33.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.05.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 8.39%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.729 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.33%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 200.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of several research reports. Cibc World Mkts raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.33.

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.