Tobam Boosts Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Tobam boosted its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 198.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 47,816 shares during the quarter. Tobam’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of BCE by 3.9% during the third quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network increased its holdings in BCE by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 8,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in BCE by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of BCE by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 6.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.56 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $39.73. 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 has a market capitalization of $21.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 336.50, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.86.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 0.76% and a return on equity of 17.58%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on BCE. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

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.