Vanguard Group Inc. Has $369.57 Million Stock Holdings in 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 holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,101,336 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 222,432 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 1.75% of BCE worth $369,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

BCE Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of BCE stock traded down $0.0450 on Thursday, reaching $25.6950. 3,289,906 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,098,548. BCE, Inc. has a one year low of $20.28 and a one year high of $36.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.59 and a 200 day moving average of $22.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company has a market capitalization of $23.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.61, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.62.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a yield of 565.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 437.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BCE. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Cibc World Mkts cut BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Desjardins upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. One equities 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.