BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Sold by Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. reduced its stake in BCE, Inc. by 1.3%, selling 12,134 shares, which now makes up 2.3% of its investment portfolio.
• BCE's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.48, beating estimates, despite a revenue decline of 1.3% year-over-year.
• The company has recently cut its dividend, with a payout ratio of 488.46%, indicating significant financial strain amidst changing market conditions.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. decreased its position in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 942,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,134 shares during the quarter. BCE makes up about 2.3% of Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. owned approximately 0.10% of BCE worth $21,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of BCE by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 5,202,254 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $119,389,000 after acquiring an additional 567,705 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in BCE by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 33,847 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 12,590 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in BCE by 649.7% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 66,577 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after buying an additional 57,696 shares during the period. Lincluden Management Ltd. raised its holdings in BCE by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 1,897,084 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,545,000 after buying an additional 281,128 shares during the period. Finally, Old Port Advisors raised its holdings in BCE by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 45,683 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 6,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of BCE stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $23.31. 1,888,228 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,933,097. The business's fifty day moving average is $22.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. BCE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $36.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.62.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a yield of 565.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 488.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.67.

BCE 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.