The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stake in BCE, Inc. $BCE

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 21.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,038,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 897,141 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.54% of BCE worth $127,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in BCE by 15.7% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of BCE by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of BCE by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 4,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 28,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 926 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $21.80 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $22.98 and its 200 day moving average is $24.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.52. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.87 and a 12 month high of $26.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

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

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.0%. BCE’s payout ratio is 25.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research lowered BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on BCE in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, TD Securities upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

About BCE

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.