Cullen Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Cullen Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 41.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,597,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,562,549 shares during the quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC owned about 0.39% of BCE worth $79,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 27.6% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,627,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,755,000 after buying an additional 352,151 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the second quarter valued at $3,181,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,644,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 567,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,034,000 after purchasing an additional 65,230 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the 1st quarter worth about $268,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $23.69 on Monday. BCE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $26.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.58.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a return on equity of 17.35% and a net margin of 25.62%.The company had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. BCE’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 26.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. TD Securities raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.