Vise Technologies Inc. Invests $238,000 in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,181,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,644,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in BCE by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 567,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,034,000 after acquiring an additional 65,230 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in BCE in the 1st quarter worth $268,000. Finally, Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC raised its position in BCE by 90.8% during the second quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 123,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,741,000 after acquiring an additional 58,845 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at $23.05 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.25. BCE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $27.50. The stock has a market cap of $21.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.47, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 25.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Desjardins raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. TD Securities upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

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.