Unigestion Holding SA Grows Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Unigestion Holding SA grew its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 75.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,935 shares during the quarter. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in BCE were worth $3,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of BCE by 4.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,421,000 after acquiring an additional 864,472 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in BCE by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,878,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $368,073,000 after purchasing an additional 411,911 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in BCE by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,028,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,734,000 after purchasing an additional 168,704 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in BCE by 95.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter worth $87,643,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $22.74 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.62 and a 12 month high of $36.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market cap of $20.96 billion, a PE ratio of 189.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56.

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

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.25%. BCE’s payout ratio is 2,291.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.