Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 1,874 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,874 shares during the quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ raised its position in shares of BCE by 2.0% during the first quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 23,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in BCE by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in BCE by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in BCE by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 11,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in BCE by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $670,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.81 on Friday. BCE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $33.22. The firm has a market cap of $22.20 billion, a PE ratio of 82.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

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

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 437.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BCE. CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Desjardins raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. TD Securities raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. National Bankshares reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

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.