Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Lowers Position in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. trimmed its stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,543,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 37,801 shares during the period. BCE comprises 1.0% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings in BCE were worth $36,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 32,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 11.1% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 15.7% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in BCE by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC increased its stake in BCE by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 12,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Trading Up 2.4%

BCE stock opened at $26.29 on Friday. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $26.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $24.74 and its 200 day moving average is $24.06. The company has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a PE ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.55 billion. BCE had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 16.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Barrington Research upgraded shares of BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.00.

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.