Morningstar Investment Management LLC Sells 81,087 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 37.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 81,087 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $3,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 92.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $96,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $24.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $24.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.35. BCE, Inc. has a one year low of $21.09 and a one year high of $26.52. The firm has a market cap of $22.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.48.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. The company’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, equities analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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. Weiss Ratings raised BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barrington Research raised BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $26.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, TD Securities lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.