Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Has $4.67 Million Stock Holdings in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. raised its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 28.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 200,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 43,800 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $4,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in BCE by 27.6% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,627,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,755,000 after purchasing an additional 352,151 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 624,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,598,000 after purchasing an additional 267,313 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 16,698.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,740,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730,605 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 593,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,146,000 after purchasing an additional 27,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of BCE by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,319,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $404,701,000 after buying an additional 608,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Down 0.9%

BCE stock opened at $25.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.55. BCE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $26.52.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.55 billion. BCE had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BCE. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.67.

BCE Company Profile

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.