Aigen Investment Management LP Takes $1.24 Million Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 53,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,239,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BCE. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the third quarter worth about $208,000. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the third quarter worth about $436,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 3.6% in the third quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 105,149 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,664,000 after purchasing an additional 3,646 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of BCE by 24.6% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 262,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,124,000 after purchasing an additional 51,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Executive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the third quarter worth about $398,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.00.

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BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $24.78. The company had a trading volume of 3,419,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,239,732. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 206.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $36.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. Equities research analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE's payout ratio is 2,291.67%.

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.