Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC Has $2.74 Million Position in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 90.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 123,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,845 shares during the period. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $2,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BCE. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of BCE by 36.1% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 25,249,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $579,458,000 after purchasing an additional 6,697,900 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in BCE by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,101,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $369,574,000 after buying an additional 222,432 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in BCE by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,181,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $325,559,000 after buying an additional 4,783,232 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of BCE by 170.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,679,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $268,164,000 after buying an additional 7,365,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its position in shares of BCE by 94.4% in the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 10,649,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $243,966,000 after buying an additional 5,171,655 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of BCE opened at $23.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.95. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $33.85. The company has a market capitalization of $21.63 billion, a PE ratio of 80.00, a PEG ratio of 3.94 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.06). The company 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%.BCE’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, 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 will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.5%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 437.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Desjardins raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, National Bankshares restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $32.50.

About BCE

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.