Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Decreases Stake in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership trimmed its holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 47.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,465,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,685,316 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in BCE were worth $188,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BCE. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $100,999,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $91,811,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its stake 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 buying an additional 3,024,110 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,136,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $408,749,000 after buying an additional 2,250,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 37,579,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $896,398,000 after buying an additional 1,992,000 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of BCE stock opened at $21.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.27. The stock has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.52. BCE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.87 and a 12-month high of $26.52.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. BCE had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. BCE’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BCE shares. Zacks Research cut BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

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.