Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 700,797 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in BCE by 700,797 shares (a 4.0% rise) in Q4 to 18,020,124 shares, representing 1.93% of the company and valued at $429.8 million.
• Several other institutions also raised positions—Caisse de dépôt (+9.7% to 34,107,306 shares), Arrowstreet (+15.8%), and Canerector (+3,152%)—and institutional investors now own 41.46% of BCE.
• BCE's Q earnings showed an EPS beat of $0.49 vs. $0.45 expected but revenue of $4.66 billion missed the $6.55 billion estimate; the stock trades at a $22.63 billion market cap with a P/E of 4.94 and an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $28.67 target.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,020,124 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 700,797 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 1.93% of BCE worth $429,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BCE. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 34,107,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $797,161,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024,110 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 16,212,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $378,981,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206,385 shares during the last quarter. Canerector Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 3,152.0% in the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 8,130,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $190,161,000 after acquiring an additional 7,880,000 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 77.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,389,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $149,459,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,221,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,925,000 after acquiring an additional 153,882 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $24.27 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $24.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. BCE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.04 and a 12-month high of $26.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.48.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BCE from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. TD Securities lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barrington Research raised shares of BCE from an "underperform" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.67.

BCE Profile

BCE Inc NYSE: BCE is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.

On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BCE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.