Unigestion Holding SA Increases Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Unigestion Holding SA increased its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 75.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 155,933 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 66,935 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in BCE were worth $3,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in BCE by 235.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,882 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829 shares during the period. Aviva PLC grew its position in BCE by 317.1% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 49,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 37,327 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in BCE by 114.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,548,165 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,384,000 after purchasing an additional 825,098 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in BCE by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,263,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $75,655,000 after buying an additional 546,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 8,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.59. 1,597,801 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,763,850. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 179.37, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.05.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (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 anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.90%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

BCE Company 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.