BCE, Inc. $BCE Position Boosted by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in BCE, Inc. by 16.4%, bringing its total holdings to 135,837 shares valued at $3,118,000.
• BCE reported disappointing earnings of $0.46 per share for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52, alongside revenue of $4.47 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share, representing a 7.0% dividend yield for shareholders.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,837 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,107 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $3,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in BCE by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,101,336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $369,574,000 after purchasing an additional 222,432 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of BCE by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 10,569,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $244,692,000 after buying an additional 2,706,839 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of BCE by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,844,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $157,133,000 after purchasing an additional 815,614 shares during the period. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. increased its stake in BCE by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 5,202,254 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $119,389,000 after acquiring an additional 567,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of BCE by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,664,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $61,175,000 after purchasing an additional 258,861 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.72. The company had a trading volume of 477,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,264,473. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.25, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. 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 earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.BCE's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 437.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

BCE 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.