BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Stake Reduced by Captrust Financial Advisors

Captrust Financial Advisors lessened its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 62.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,808 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in BCE were worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 13,655 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in BCE by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in BCE by 217.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in BCE by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 65,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $21.45. 2,649,236 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,949,068. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 178.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $21.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.53. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve month high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.92 billion. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. BCE's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.