Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,751 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 24.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,751 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BCE. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of BCE by 502.5% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 156,499 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,628,000 after acquiring an additional 130,522 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $294,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in BCE by 103.6% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 129,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,991,000 after buying an additional 65,648 shares in the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC increased its position in BCE by 100.7% during the 4th quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 11,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc increased its position in BCE by 144.6% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 873,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,247,000 after buying an additional 516,388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BCE. National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Desjardins raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Cibc World Mkts lowered BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.67.

BCE Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:BCE opened at $24.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.73, a PEG ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.63. BCE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $36.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

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

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued 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, September 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 437.93%.

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.