BCE (NYSE:BCE) Stock Price Down 2.5% - Here's What Happened

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE's share price traded down 2.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $22.91 and last traded at $23.04. 926,649 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 2,931,439 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Down 2.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 327.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.04. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.85%. This is a boost from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BCE. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in BCE by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 321.0% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the 2nd quarter worth about $76,000. 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.