JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Stock Position in BCE, Inc. $BCE

by · The Markets Daily

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE – Free Report) (TSE:BCE) by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,980,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 655,646 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.21% of BCE worth $46,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in BCE in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in BCE in the second quarter valued at $42,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 81.0% in the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 229.1% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 2,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of BCE by 340.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on BCE shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Barrington Research upgraded BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Get Our Latest Research Report on BCE

BCE Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:BCE opened at $25.67 on Friday. BCE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $26.49. The firm has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a PE ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.05.

BCE (NYSE:BCE – Get Free Report) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.55 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 16.30% and a net margin of 26.14%.BCE’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

BCE Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BCE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE – Free Report) (TSE:BCE).