BCE, Inc. $BCE Shares Sold by MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd

MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd lessened its holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,405,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 39,972 shares during the period. BCE accounts for about 3.7% of MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd’s holdings in BCE were worth $28,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the first quarter worth $33,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in BCE during the third quarter valued at $37,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in BCE by 99.3% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in BCE by 16.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Finally, Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new stake in BCE in the first quarter valued at $78,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE opened at $20.05 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.48. BCE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.68 and a 52-week high of $26.52. The company has a market cap of $18.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.10, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 25.49%. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.798-1.919 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a C$0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.7%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings raised BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on BCE from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.00.

BCE Profile

BCE Inc is a Canadian communications and media company headquartered in Montréal, Québec. Through its Bell Canada operations, the company provides wireless and wireline telecommunications services, including mobile voice and data, high-speed internet, local and long-distance voice, and digital television. Bell serves residential, small-business, enterprise and government customers across Canada.

BCE also operates a media business through Bell Media, which includes television networks, digital platforms, radio stations and related content operations.