Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Has $175.28 Million Stake in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,338,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 292,690 shares during the period. BCE makes up approximately 2.9% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned about 0.79% of BCE worth $175,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in BCE by 735.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 3,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 92.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. TD Securities downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.67.

BCE Trading Up 1.6%

BCE opened at $24.57 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $24.25 and its 200-day moving average is $24.50. The company has a market cap of $22.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.50. BCE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.58 and a 1-year high of $26.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. BCE had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.02%.

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.