Allianz Asset Management GmbH Acquires 7,926 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,926 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BCE. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of BCE by 55.5% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 58,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 21,041 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 3,950 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 43.5% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 4,038 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 7.8% during the first quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of BCE by 3.1% during the first quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 112,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 3,380 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Securities upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. CIBC restated a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Cibc World Mkts downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday. Finally, Desjardins upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $23.81 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $24.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.08. The firm has a market cap of $22.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.63. BCE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $33.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. BCE’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 437.93%.

About BCE

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.