AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Has $5.24 Million Stock Holdings in BCE, Inc. $BCE

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lessened its stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 219,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 97,528 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in BCE were worth $5,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in BCE by 735.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in BCE by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc grew its holdings in BCE by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 3,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in BCE by 43.9% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.09 and a 12 month high of $26.52. The company has a market capitalization of $22.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.48.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.04. BCE had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 25.66%.The company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.4%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About BCE

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.