BCE, Inc. $BCE Stock Position Decreased by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,141,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 95,390 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $74,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Havemeyer Place LP acquired a new stake in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at $801,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 13,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 3,475 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its stake in BCE by 117.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 17,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 9,466 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in BCE by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 28,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $670,000 after purchasing an additional 9,683 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at $91,811,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Trading Down 0.9%

BCE stock opened at $24.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $22.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.50. BCE, Inc. has a one year low of $21.58 and a one year high of $26.52. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.49.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on BCE shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, May 29th. TD Securities downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.67.

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.