Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $13.44 Million Stake in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 535.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 532,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 448,757 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.06% of BCE worth $13,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 278,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,400,000 after purchasing an additional 75,053 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in BCE by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the second quarter worth $407,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in BCE by 92.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in BCE by 237.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 265,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,894,000 after buying an additional 186,965 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BCE shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on BCE from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, May 29th. TD Securities raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Zacks Research cut BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $21.25 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.52. BCE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.87 and a 1-year high of $26.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.26.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. BCE had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.2%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 25.61%.

BCE Profile

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.