K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Purchases Shares of 209,800 BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc acquired 209,800 shares of BCE, Inc., valued at approximately $4.64 million, marking a significant investment in the utility provider.
• BCE's EPS for the last quarter was reported at $0.46, missing estimates of $0.52, while the company projected a FY 2025 EPS guidance of 1.910-1.980.
• An increase in analyst ratings led to BCE being raised from a "hold" to a "buy" by multiple institutions, with an average target price of $33.50.

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc purchased a new stake in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 209,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,644,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 170.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 7,365,253 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in BCE by 36.1% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 25,249,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $579,458,000 after acquiring an additional 6,697,900 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its holdings in BCE by 94.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,171,655 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in BCE by 50.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,783,232 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 815,614 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of BCE opened at $22.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.61. BCE, Inc. has a one year low of $20.28 and a one year high of $32.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.78, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.18.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. BCE's payout ratio is presently 437.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Desjardins raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. TD Securities raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised BCE from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, CIBC reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.50.

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.

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