LPL Financial LLC Sells 55,389 Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in BCE, Inc. by 21.1% during the first quarter, now owning 207,391 shares valued at approximately $4.76 million.
• BCE, Inc. recently reported a net margin of 1.96% with quarterly revenue of $4.47 billion, missing analyst estimates of $5.91 billion.
• The company's dividend payout ratio is notably high at 437.93%, indicating potential concerns about sustainability despite a recent dividend yield of 565.0%.

LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 21.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,391 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 55,389 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $4,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. WealthCollab LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of BCE by 67.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of BCE by 77.2% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,891 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank raised BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Cibc World Mkts downgraded BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.67.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE:BCE traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $25.60. 3,383,810 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,043,904. The company has a market capitalization of $23.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.62. BCE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.34 and a 200 day moving average of $22.85.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Research analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a yield of 565.0%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is currently 434.48%.

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.