L.M. Kohn & Company Sells 3,775 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

L.M. Kohn & Company decreased its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,775 shares during the quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company’s holdings in BCE were worth $211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 1,147.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in BCE by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BCE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.50.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.86 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market cap of $21.76 billion, a PE ratio of 198.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.63 and a 200 day moving average of $29.36. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $38.14.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.68%. BCE’s payout ratio is 2,283.33%.

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.