Lincluden Management Ltd. Sells 62,109 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• Lincluden Management Ltd. cut its stake in BCE by 3.2%, selling 62,109 shares and leaving 1,885,402 shares, which represented about 0.20% of BCE worth $44.91 million and was its fourth-largest holding.
• BCE beat quarterly EPS at $0.49 versus $0.45 expected but reported revenue of $4.66 billion (below the $6.55 billion estimate); the company set FY2026 guidance of 1.790–1.910 EPS and analysts project about 1.87 EPS for the year.
• BCE declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 ($1.75 annualized), yielding 7.5% with a payout ratio of 26.07%.

Lincluden Management Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,885,402 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 62,109 shares during the period. BCE accounts for approximately 4.9% of Lincluden Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Lincluden Management Ltd. owned about 0.20% of BCE worth $44,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth $486,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BCE by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,020,124 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $429,834,000 after purchasing an additional 700,797 shares in the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of BCE by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 148,876 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,551,000 after purchasing an additional 4,090 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of BCE by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 23,536 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of BCE by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,806,619 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,034,000 after purchasing an additional 65,650 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $23.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.89 billion, a PE ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.55. BCE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.04 and a 1-year high of $26.52. The company's fifty day moving average price is $25.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.29.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barrington Research raised BCE from an "underperform" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings raised BCE from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, TD Securities lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.67.

BCE Company 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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