Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases 1,194,297 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 11,118.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,205,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,194,297 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.13% of BCE worth $31,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in BCE by 735.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in BCE by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc grew its holdings in BCE by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 3,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 92.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 2,081 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $23.84 on Tuesday. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.09 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.64 and a 200-day moving average of $24.31.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. BCE had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 25.66%.The company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. BCE’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 26.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BCE. Barrington Research raised BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Securities lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.67.

BCE Company 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.