BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Holdings Decreased by Geneos Wealth Management Inc.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 67.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,610 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $86,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in BCE by 53.5% during the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 13,375,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $742,107,000 after purchasing an additional 4,661,300 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in BCE by 400.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,570,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,857,340 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter valued at $117,492,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in BCE by 20.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,007,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $423,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in BCE by 83.6% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,418,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $92,768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $32.41 on Tuesday. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.00 and a twelve month high of $48.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.96.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. Research analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.742 per share. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 174.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BCE. Argus cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. TD Securities cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.