Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 222,432 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in BCE, Inc. by 1.4%, purchasing an additional 222,432 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 16.1 million shares valued at $369.6 million.
• BCE reported disappointing earnings for the last quarter, with an EPS of $0.46 that fell short of analysts' expectations of $0.52 and a revenue of $4.47 billion compared to a forecast of $5.91 billion.
• The company announced a dividend payout with a high yield of 565.0%, although its payout ratio stands at 434.48%, indicating a substantial portion of earnings is being distributed to shareholders.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,101,336 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 222,432 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 1.75% of BCE worth $369,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 12.2% during the first quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 5,202,254 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $119,389,000 after purchasing an additional 567,705 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in BCE by 59.2% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 33,847 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 12,590 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 649.7% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 66,577 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 57,696 shares in the last quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. lifted its position in BCE by 17.4% during the first quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 1,897,084 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,545,000 after purchasing an additional 281,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors lifted its position in BCE by 15.3% during the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 45,683 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 6,074 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE BCE traded down $0.1850 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $25.5550. 117,829 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,278,950. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. BCE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $36.17. The stock has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a PE ratio of 88.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.62.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The company had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company'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. Analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 payout ratio is presently 437.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BCE shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded 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. Scotiabank upgraded BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.67.

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.