Amundi Boosts Stock Position in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• Amundi increased its BCE stake by 33.4% in the second quarter, owning 1.06 million shares valued at approximately $22.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively hold 41.46% of BCE.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.25, above BCE’s reported share price of $23.38.
• BCE reported quarterly earnings of $0.47 per share, slightly exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share. The annualized dividend of $1.75 represents a yield of approximately 7.5%.

Amundi boosted its stake in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 33.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,058,035 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 264,619 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.11% of BCE worth $22,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BCE. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 278,745 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,400,000 after buying an additional 75,053 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 64.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of BCE in the second quarter valued at approximately $407,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 92.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,322 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 2,081 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of BCE by 237.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 265,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,894,000 after purchasing an additional 186,965 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of BCE from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of BCE from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $24.50 to $27.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.25.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at $23.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.80. BCE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.87 and a 1 year high of $26.52. The stock has a market cap of $21.80 billion, a PE ratio of 4.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. BCE had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 25.49%.The firm had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.798-1.919 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. BCE's payout ratio is presently 25.77%.

BCE Profile

BCE Inc is a Canadian communications and media company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Through its Bell operations, the company provides wireless and wireline telecommunications services, including mobile voice and data plans, high-speed internet, telephone services, and business communications solutions.

BCE also offers television services, including conventional, satellite, and internet-based television, as well as digital content and streaming products. Its media operations include television networks, specialty channels, digital media properties, and sports and news programming.

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