BCE, Inc. $BCE Shares Acquired by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in BCE, Inc. by 19.2% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 0.06% of BCE valued at $12.99 million.
• BCE reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.46, missing estimates of $0.52, with revenues of $4.47 billion against an expected $5.91 billion.
• The company has a high payout ratio of 437.93% following a dividend payment, indicating significant returns to shareholders despite financial challenges.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 19.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 566,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 91,206 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.06% of BCE worth $12,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in BCE by 108,040.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,402 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth $1,075,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the first quarter worth $248,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in BCE by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 249,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,787,000 after acquiring an additional 11,746 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 129.4% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 3,560 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of BCE traded up $0.1350 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.7150. The stock had a trading volume of 3,587,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,066,355. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. BCE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $36.17. The business's fifty day moving average is $23.53 and its 200 day moving average is $22.89. The firm has a market cap of $23.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.62.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.91 billion. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a yield of 565.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 437.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BCE. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Desjardins upgraded shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.