BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading Down 1.3% – Here’s Why

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) shares fell 1.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $25.57 and last traded at $25.64. 866,166 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 2,448,438 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.51 and a 200 day moving average of $32.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 364.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.737 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.55%. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 3,355.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,450,000 after buying an additional 1,798,427 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 5,036.0% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,042 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in BCE by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in BCE by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

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.