BCE, Inc. $BCE Shares Sold by Westerkirk Capital Inc.

Westerkirk Capital Inc. lowered its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 93.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 36,500 shares during the quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $64,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 64.8% during the first 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. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of BCE by 34.6% during the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 3,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 92.9% during the second 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

BCE Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:BCE opened at $24.57 on Wednesday. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.58 and a 12 month high of $26.52. The firm has a market cap of $22.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $24.25 and its 200-day moving average is $24.50.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.04. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

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

BCE 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.