BCE, Inc. $BCE Shares Acquired by Aviso Financial Inc.

Aviso Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 5.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 162,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,052 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $3,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in BCE during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 2,459.6% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,402 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in BCE in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on BCE shares. Wall Street Zen raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 22nd. National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays reduced their price objective on BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Desjardins raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $23.08 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $21.52 billion, a PE ratio of 79.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62. BCE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $27.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.30.

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

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.6%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.78%.

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.