TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Acquires 352,151 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in BCE by 27.6%, buying 352,151 shares to own 1,627,120 shares (about 0.17% of the company) valued at approximately $36.76 million.
• BCE announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 (annualized $1.75), implying a 7.6% yield, payable Jan. 15 with record and ex-dividend dates on Dec. 15.
• In the latest quarter BCE reported EPS of $0.57 (beat by $0.05) but revenue of $4.34 billion missed expectations of $6.14 billion; management set FY2025 guidance at $1.91–$1.98 EPS (analysts’ consensus ~1.94).

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 27.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,627,120 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 352,151 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. owned 0.17% of BCE worth $36,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in BCE by 4.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 105,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,432,000 after buying an additional 4,947 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in BCE by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 45,150 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 15,239 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of BCE by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 23,239 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE in the 1st quarter worth $348,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BCE. Desjardins raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Securities raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of BCE from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $23.07 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.27. The stock has a market cap of $21.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.54, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $27.45.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. The firm's 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. As a group, analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.78%.

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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