First Trust Advisors LP Sells 420,702 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 18.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,833,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 420,702 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in BCE were worth $46,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in BCE by 735.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new position in BCE in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 1,642.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new stake in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, July 10th. TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

BCE Trading Up 0.1%

BCE opened at $21.32 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.07 and a 200 day moving average of $24.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.87 and a 12 month high of $26.52. The firm has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.52.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted 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 business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 25.66%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 8.2%. BCE’s payout ratio is 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.