Natixis Has $5.71 Million Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Natixis boosted its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 217.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 168,622 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in BCE were worth $5,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in BCE by 623.9% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,398,336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $217,573,000 after purchasing an additional 8,100,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $87,643,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of BCE by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 19,945,799 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $462,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,624,953 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 26,292,783 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $609,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,322,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 95.5% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,586,953 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $106,216,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240,473 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. National Bank Financial upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

BCE Trading Down 1.0 %

BCE traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,994,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,797,755. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 183.33, a P/E/G 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $22.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.32.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. BCE's payout ratio is presently 2,291.67%.

BCE 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.