Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 6,685,316 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership decreased its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 47.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,465,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,685,316 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.80% of BCE worth $188,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 15.7% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in BCE by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc grew its holdings in BCE by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 4,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its holdings in BCE by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 28,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in BCE by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 33,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Securities raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research lowered BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $21.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. BCE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.87 and a 12-month high of $26.52. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.27. The company has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.52.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 25.66%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 25.61%.

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.