BCE, Inc. $BCE Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 766 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $446,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 64.8% during the first 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BCE shares. CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Desjardins upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $32.50.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $23.89 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $24.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.97. BCE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $33.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.38, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. BCE’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 437.93%.

BCE Profile

BCE Inc, a communications company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Bell Communication and Technology Services, and Bell Media. The Bell Communication and Technology Services segment provides wireless products and services including mobile data and voice plans and devices; wireline products and services comprising data, including internet access, internet protocol television, cloud-based services, and business solutions, as well as voice, and other communication services and products; and satellite TV and connectivity services for residential, small and medium-sized business, government, and large enterprise customers.