Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $223,000 Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 31.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,370 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in BCE were worth $223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BCE during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $22.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.64 billion, a PE ratio of 186.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $36.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. Analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.44%. BCE’s payout ratio is 2,291.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

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.