Morningstar Investment Management LLC Has $3.21 Million Stock Holdings in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Morningstar Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 37.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 134,571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 81,087 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $3,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 36.8% during the 1st 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 position in shares of BCE by 64.8% during the 1st 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. bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the 2nd quarter valued at $407,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 92.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of BCE by 237.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 265,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,894,000 after acquiring an additional 186,965 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $24.61 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. BCE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.09 and a twelve month high of $26.52. The company has a market cap of $22.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.35.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. BCE’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Barrington Research upgraded BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Securities downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.