BCE (NYSE:BCE) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Here’s What Happened

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s share price shot up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $23.62 and last traded at $23.36. 451,717 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 2,579,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BCE shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays lowered their price objective on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a market cap of $21.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 332.57, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.66%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of BCE by 25.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,282,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 12,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 4,605 shares during the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in BCE by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 103,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after acquiring an additional 4,438 shares during the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 25.2% in the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 138.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 8,633 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.