BCE, Inc. $BCE Shares Sold by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,659,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 33,017 shares during the quarter. BCE makes up approximately 1.1% of Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of BCE worth $39,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 36.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 278,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,400,000 after acquiring an additional 75,053 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 64.8% in 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 period. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new position in BCE in the second quarter valued at approximately $407,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in BCE by 92.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in BCE by 237.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 265,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,894,000 after purchasing an additional 186,965 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, TD Securities lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.67.

BCE Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of BCE opened at $25.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.19 and a 12 month high of $26.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $24.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.41. The firm has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.48.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. BCE had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 25.66%.The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. BCE’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.02%.

About BCE

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.