BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Down 1.9% – Should You Sell?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) shares traded down 1.9% on Monday . The company traded as low as $24.06 and last traded at $24.36. 1,371,868 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 2,473,485 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCE has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the 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 Down 1.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $21.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 337.07, a PEG 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.25.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.49%. BCE’s payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in BCE by 4.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after acquiring an additional 864,472 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,553,000 after purchasing an additional 905,857 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in BCE by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in BCE by 0.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 21,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in BCE by 5.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,379,000 after buying an additional 186,659 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.