Tobam Raises Stock Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

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

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 9,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 2,852 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 12.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 121.2% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in BCE by 321.0% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Down 5.4 %

Shares of BCE opened at $23.56 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.87 and a 52-week high of $39.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.86. The company has a market capitalization of $21.49 billion, a PE ratio of 336.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 EPS for the current year.

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.