Creative Planning Sells 32,333 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Creative Planning reduced its holdings in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 27.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 32,333 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 60,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,331,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of BCE by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 19,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of BCE by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 11,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Up 0.8%

BCE stock opened at $23.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.65 billion, a PE ratio of 80.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve month high of $27.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.28 and its 200-day moving average is $23.31.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.05. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BCE shares. CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

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.