BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Sold by Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 43.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,542 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 43,537 shares during the period. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $1,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 10,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in BCE by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 13,655 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 7.8% in the first quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,332 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 10.3% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on BCE. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Scotiabank raised shares of BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.67.

BCE Price Performance

BCE traded up $0.30 on Monday, reaching $23.98. The company had a trading volume of 2,250,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,125,355. The company has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.21, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.61. BCE, Inc. has a one year low of $20.28 and a one year high of $36.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.36 and a 200-day moving average of $22.74.

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

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is presently 488.46%.

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.