Bessemer Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 2,674,985.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,819,058 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,818,990 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $43,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in BCE by 735.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its holdings in BCE by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 3,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in BCE by 43.9% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $23.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.09 and a 12 month high of $26.52.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’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, research analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on BCE shares. Weiss Ratings raised BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Securities downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Barrington Research raised BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $26.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.67.

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.