BCE, Inc. $BCE Shares Sold by APG Asset Management N.V.

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. has reduced its position in BCE, Inc. by 10.4%, selling 56,157 shares and holding approximately 484,001 shares valued at $10.28 million.
• Despite a slight revenue increase year-over-year, BCE reported earnings per share of $0.46 for the most recent quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $0.52.
• BCE's recent dividend of $0.4375 per share yielded a significant 434.48% payout ratio, raising concerns about its sustainability.

APG Asset Management N.V. lessened its holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 484,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 56,157 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned approximately 0.05% of BCE worth $10,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in BCE by 108,040.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 5,402 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,075,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the 1st quarter valued at about $248,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in BCE by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 507,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,644,000 after purchasing an additional 104,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of BCE by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 249,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,787,000 after acquiring an additional 11,746 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,434,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,416,683. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.97. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.09, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.63. BCE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $36.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 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 business earned $0.78 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 437.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank upgraded BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Desjardins upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts downgraded BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.67.

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.