BCE (NYSE:BCE) Stock Price Down 1.5% – Here’s Why

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s stock price fell 1.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $22.18 and last traded at $22.31. 780,388 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,563,413 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a PE ratio of 322.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.61.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.737 per share. 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 13.04%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4,214.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,798,427 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,328,042 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,166,800 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of BCE by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after buying an additional 1,061,488 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 905,857 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.