USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 60,100 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 29.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 142,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 60,100 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in BCE were worth $3,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in BCE by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 52,966 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $9,522,000. Tobam grew its stake in BCE by 198.0% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 71,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,668,000 after purchasing an additional 47,816 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $17,271,000. Finally, Griffin Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $302,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.45. 2,649,236 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,949,068. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a PE ratio of 178.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $36.17. The business's 50-day moving average is $21.91 and its 200-day moving average is $23.55.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BCE. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. National Bank Financial upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.