Garrison Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Garrison Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 660 shares during the period. Garrison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of BCE by 400.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,570,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,294,000 after buying an additional 2,857,340 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of BCE by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,007,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $423,202,000 after buying an additional 1,893,418 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of BCE by 83.6% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,418,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $92,768,000 after buying an additional 1,101,200 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of BCE by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,318,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $88,908,000 after buying an additional 843,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of BCE by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,968,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $113,318,000 after buying an additional 835,871 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE BCE traded up $0.31 during trading on Monday, reaching $32.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,578,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,592,721. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.04 and a 200 day moving average of $37.83. BCE Inc. has a one year low of $31.82 and a one year high of $48.38.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 8.82%. Analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.742 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.02%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 174.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Securities lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Argus lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

About BCE

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.