BCE, Inc. $BCE Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 25.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 24,226 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WealthCollab LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of BCE by 67.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the first quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 77.2% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $24.90 on Wednesday. BCE, Inc. has a one year low of $20.28 and a one year high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $23.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.85, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.93.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.06). BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. BCE’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a yield of 565.0%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 437.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BCE shares. Desjardins upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday. National Bankshares reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.67.

BCE 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.