BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 130,522 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 502.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 156,499 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 130,522 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in BCE were worth $3,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in BCE by 1.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its position in BCE by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 13,655 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in BCE by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Price Performance

BCE traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.55. 2,789,165 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,938,484. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $36.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.93. The company has a market cap of $19.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 179.54, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BCE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.67.

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.