BCE, Inc. $BCE Shares Bought by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in BCE by 3.8% to 1,806,619 shares (about $43.0M), and other institutions—like UBS AM and Marshall Wace—also materially increased holdings, leaving institutional ownership at roughly 41.46%.
• BCE beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.49 vs. $0.45) but missed on revenue ($4.66B vs. $6.55B); management set FY2026 guidance at 1.79–1.91 EPS versus sell-side ~1.94, and the stock trades at a PE of 4.86 with a 7.3% dividend yield ($0.4375 quarterly, ex-dividend Mar 16).

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,806,619 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 65,650 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.19% of BCE worth $43,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BCE. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $6,400,000 after purchasing an additional 75,053 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 64.8% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $407,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 92.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,322 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 237.0% in 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.

BCE Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE BCE opened at $23.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.27 billion, a PE ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.58. BCE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.04 and a fifty-two week high of $26.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.55 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 26.14%.BCE's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BCE. TD Securities lowered BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, December 28th. Finally, Barrington Research raised BCE from an "underperform" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.67.

About BCE

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.

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