21,652 Shares in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Acquired by FORA Capital LLC

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 21,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $502,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of BCE by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 52,966 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in BCE in the fourth quarter worth about $9,522,000. Tobam lifted its holdings in BCE by 198.0% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 71,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,668,000 after buying an additional 47,816 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,271,000. Finally, Griffin Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $302,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.99. 3,704,147 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,911,968. The company has a market cap of $20.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 183.25, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.17. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on BCE shares. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.