Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Makes New Investment in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new position in BCE, Inc., acquiring 58,825 shares worth approximately $1.401 million in the fourth quarter, according to its latest 13F filing.
• BCE reported Q results with EPS of $0.49 (beating estimates by $0.04) and revenue of $4.66 billion (down 0.3% YoY); management set FY2026 guidance at $1.79–$1.91 EPS and analysts expect about $1.87.
• BCE recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 (annualized $1.75), a yield of roughly 7.3% with a payout ratio of 26.07%.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 58,825 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,401,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in BCE by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 40,007 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $953,000 after buying an additional 9,582 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $486,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 700,797 shares during the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 4,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 2,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at $23.96 on Monday. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.04 and a 12 month high of $26.52. The stock's 50 day moving average is $25.01 and its 200-day moving average is $24.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $22.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.48.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its 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 return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 26.14%.The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, January 12th. TD Securities downgraded BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barrington Research raised BCE from an "underperform" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised BCE from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.67.

BCE 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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