Flax Pond Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 201,169 BCE, Inc. $BCE

Flax Pond Capital LLC purchased a new position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 201,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,792,000. BCE makes up approximately 3.5% of Flax Pond Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BCE. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 37,579,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $896,398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,992,000 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its stake in BCE by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 34,107,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $797,161,000 after purchasing an additional 3,024,110 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,020,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $429,834,000 after purchasing an additional 700,797 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in BCE by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,136,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $408,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in BCE by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 16,212,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $378,981,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206,385 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Trading Up 0.1%

BCE stock opened at $23.30 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $21.58 and a 52 week high of $26.52. The company has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.53.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. BCE’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 25.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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