Berkeley Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Berkeley Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 61,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,429,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 27.6% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,627,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,755,000 after acquiring an additional 352,151 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,181,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc acquired a new stake in BCE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,644,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in BCE by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 624,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,598,000 after purchasing an additional 267,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in BCE by 16,698.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,740,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730,605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of BCE opened at $25.57 on Friday. BCE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $26.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.84 billion, a PE ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.60. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. BCE had a return on equity of 16.30% and a net margin of 26.14%.The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BCE shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Barrington Research upgraded BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 28th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.00.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.

On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.