BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading 0.6% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $23.35 and last traded at $23.25. 831,638 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 2,538,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Edward Jones lowered shares of 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Trading Up 0.2 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $21.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 330.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.73%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in BCE by 4.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,553,000 after purchasing an additional 905,857 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake 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 valued at $178,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $163,932,000 after purchasing an additional 21,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,379,000 after purchasing an additional 186,659 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Company Profile

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.