BCE (NYSE:BCE) Stock Price Down 1.3% – Should You Sell?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) shares dropped 1.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $23.36 and last traded at $23.55. Approximately 574,592 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 3,002,359 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

BCE Stock Down 1.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $21.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 335.43, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.14. 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. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.56%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BCE. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased 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 worth $273,553,000 after purchasing an additional 905,857 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in 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 worth $163,932,000 after purchasing an additional 21,487 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 738,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in BCE by 5.5% during the second 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 period. 41.46% of the stock is 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.