BCE, Inc. $BCE Position Lowered by Westerkirk Capital Inc.

Westerkirk Capital Inc. decreased its stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 93.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 36,500 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $64,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 11.1% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of BCE by 15.7% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of BCE by 17.1% during the third quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 4,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of BCE by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 33,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 30,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the topic of several research reports. TD Securities lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.67.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $24.57 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $24.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.50. BCE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.58 and a 52 week high of $26.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.50. 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 (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. BCE’s 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 anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.