Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 33,379 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 295,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,379 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in BCE were worth $6,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in BCE in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in BCE by 1,642.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new stake in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE opened at $23.46 on Friday. BCE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.87 and a 52-week high of $26.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.09.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 25.49%.BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.798-1.919 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BCE shares. Barclays reduced their price target on BCE from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of BCE from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded shares of BCE from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $24.50 to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.25.

BCE Company 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.