Guardian Partners Inc. Lowers Holdings 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. cut its position in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 28.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in BCE by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 249,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,787,000 after purchasing an additional 11,746 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in BCE by 502.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 156,499 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 130,522 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter valued at $294,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter valued at $1,272,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 103.6% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 129,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 65,648 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Trading Down 0.6%

BCE stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.17. 2,360,672 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,733,343. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.33, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.02. 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 earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.91 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The company's quarterly 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, equities research analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 434.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BCE. Scotiabank raised shares of BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Desjardins upgraded shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, CIBC reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.