JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stake in BCE, Inc. $BCE

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 288.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,636,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,957,508 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.28% of BCE worth $58,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 2,459.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in BCE during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in BCE in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Up 1.5%

BCE stock opened at $23.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $23.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.32. BCE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $27.44. The company has a market cap of $21.95 billion, a PE ratio of 81.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.BCE’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. TD Securities raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

About BCE

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.