Guardian Partners Inc. Reduces Position in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• Guardian Partners Inc. has reduced its stake in BCE, Inc. by 28.6%, selling 90,934 shares and holding 226,579 shares valued at approximately $4.85 million.
• BCE missed analyst expectations with a reported EPS of $0.46 for the last quarter, falling short of the estimated $0.52, and revenues were significantly below the forecast at $4.47 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4375, representing a 7.1% yield, with a high payout ratio of 437.93%.

Guardian Partners Inc. reduced its stake in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 28.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 226,579 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 90,934 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $4,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 6,697,900 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in BCE by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,101,336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $369,574,000 after purchasing an additional 222,432 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in BCE by 50.9% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,181,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $325,559,000 after purchasing an additional 4,783,232 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in BCE by 170.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,679,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $268,164,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its position in BCE by 94.4% during the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 10,649,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $243,966,000 after purchasing an additional 5,171,655 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BCE Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of BCE stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.17. 1,994,439 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,250,122. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company's 50 day moving average is $24.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.02. BCE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $36.17. The firm has a market cap of $22.53 billion, a PE ratio of 83.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.63.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings data 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). BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business'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, equities research analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. BCE's payout ratio is 437.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on BCE shares. National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 15th. CIBC reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.67.

About BCE

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.