Acadian Asset Management LLC Takes $4.29 Million Position in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 193,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,287,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ raised its holdings in BCE by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 23,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 1.2% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 60,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 10.3% in the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in BCE by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 11,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $21.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.60, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.22. BCE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $27.50.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The business’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Desjardins upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, National Bankshares restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

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.