Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys 119,793 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in BCE, Inc. by 29.9%, acquiring an additional 119,793 shares to reach a total of 520,542 shares valued at approximately $11.53 million.
• Despite missing analysts' earnings expectations with $0.46 EPS, BCE reported a 1.3% revenue increase year-over-year with quarterly revenue of $4.47 billion.
• The company's recently announced quarterly dividend of $0.4375 represents a 7.6% yield and comes with a high dividend payout ratio of 437.93%.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 520,542 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 119,793 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.06% of BCE worth $11,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in BCE in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in BCE during the first quarter valued at $47,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in BCE by 64.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 67.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in BCE during the 1st quarter worth about $88,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on BCE shares. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Scotiabank raised shares of BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. CIBC restated a "neutral" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a 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 given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.50.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $23.11 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.97. 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 company has a market capitalization of $21.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.63. BCE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $35.28.

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

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 437.93%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BCE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.