Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Boosts Stake in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its holdings in BCE, Inc. by 94.4%, owning over 10.6 million shares, which represents about 1.2% of its investment portfolio.
• BCE recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share, reflecting a 7.0% yield and a payout ratio of 437.93%.
• BCE's earnings report showed an EPS of $0.46, missing expectations, while the company set a FY 2025 guidance of 1.910-1.980 EPS.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 94.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,649,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,171,655 shares during the quarter. BCE comprises about 1.2% of Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec owned approximately 1.16% of BCE worth $243,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in BCE by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 25,249,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $579,458,000 after buying an additional 6,697,900 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in BCE by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,181,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $325,559,000 after buying an additional 4,783,232 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in BCE by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 10,569,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $244,692,000 after buying an additional 2,706,839 shares in the last quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of BCE by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 4,634,549 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $107,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of BCE by 13.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Desjardins upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 15th. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.67.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.70. 2,189,198 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,062,674. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.01. The company has a market cap of $23.03 billion, a PE ratio of 85.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. BCE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $36.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced 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). BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The firm had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. BCE's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

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

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.