BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading Up 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s share price traded up 0.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $24.18 and last traded at $24.01. 668,994 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 2,750,248 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a PE ratio of 337.71, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.96 and a 200-day moving average of $31.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.47%. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in BCE by 4.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,421,000 after acquiring an additional 864,472 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of BCE by 12.0% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,553,000 after buying an additional 905,857 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in BCE by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,068,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $163,932,000 after acquiring an additional 21,487 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in BCE by 25.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,282,000 after purchasing an additional 738,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 5.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,379,000 after purchasing an additional 186,659 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.