BCE (NYSE:BCE) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Time to Sell?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) fell 1.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $26.12 and last traded at $26.15. 997,938 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 2,442,562 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on BCE shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced 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 note on Monday, November 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.46. The firm has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 362.29, 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 current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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 given a dividend of $0.737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.55%. BCE’s payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of BCE by 138.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,273 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the second quarter worth $231,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the second quarter valued at $147,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 103,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFM Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.