Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Purchases 38,523 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 145.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,523 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,634,000 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of BCE by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,806,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,034,000 after acquiring an additional 65,650 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,848,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,794,000 after acquiring an additional 727,860 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,020,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $429,834,000 after acquiring an additional 700,797 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its holdings in BCE by 28.0% in the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 200,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,674,000 after purchasing an additional 43,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in BCE in the fourth quarter worth $1,616,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCE has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Securities upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.67.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $21.41 on Monday. BCE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.00 and a 52 week high of $26.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.52.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. BCE had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

BCE Company 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.