BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Down 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) dropped 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $22.66 and last traded at $22.78. Approximately 597,892 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 2,560,359 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $20.67 billion, a PE ratio of 323.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.63.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.01%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of BCE by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,282,000 after acquiring an additional 738,656 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in BCE by 55.9% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 12,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605 shares during the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in BCE by 4.5% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 103,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after purchasing an additional 4,438 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 8,633 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.