First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Position in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP reduced its BCE stake by 18.7% in the first quarter, selling 420,702 shares and retaining 1.83 million shares valued at approximately $46.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 41.46% of BCE.
• BCE reported quarterly EPS of $0.46, exceeding estimates of $0.42, while revenue rose 4% year over year to $4.43 billion. The company maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.4375, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 8.2%.
• BCE shares opened at $21.32, near their 12-month low of $20.87. Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an overall “Hold” consensus and a $30 average price target.

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 18.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,833,291 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 420,702 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.20% of BCE worth $46,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in BCE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,999,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter valued at $91,811,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 34,107,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $797,161,000 after buying an additional 3,024,110 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,136,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,749,000 after buying an additional 2,250,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 37,579,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $896,398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,992,000 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Stock Up 0.1%

BCE stock opened at $21.32 on Monday. BCE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.87 and a twelve month high of $26.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.52. The business's 50-day moving average price is $23.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.27.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 25.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BCE. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays cut their price target on BCE from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.00.

BCE Profile

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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