BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Purchased by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 440.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 401,078 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 326,894 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in BCE were worth $9,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of BCE by 217.6% in the fourth 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. WealthCollab LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in BCE by 1,147.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.67.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,819,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,953,048. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.83 and a 200-day moving average of $23.47. The firm has a market cap of $20.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 181.58, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.92 billion. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. BCE's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share 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.