Swiss National Bank Has $4.77 Million Position in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 207,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in BCE were worth $4,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at $8,233,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 145.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 295,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,841,000 after purchasing an additional 174,728 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 54,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 8,608 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its position in BCE by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 45,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 22,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in BCE by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 478,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,076,000 after buying an additional 27,170 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $25.5550 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.87. The company has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a PE ratio of 88.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.62. BCE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $36.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The company had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 565.0%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 434.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded BCE from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Cibc World Mkts downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. National Bankshares reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.67.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc, a communications company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Bell Communication and Technology Services, and Bell Media. The Bell Communication and Technology Services segment provides wireless products and services including mobile data and voice plans and devices; wireline products and services comprising data, including internet access, internet protocol television, cloud-based services, and business solutions, as well as voice, and other communication services and products; and satellite TV and connectivity services for residential, small and medium-sized business, government, and large enterprise customers.