BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading Up 2.9% - Here's What Happened

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE traded up 2.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $23.28 and last traded at $23.18. 3,820,877 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 48% from the average session volume of 2,579,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price 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 target 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 lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Up 2.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $21.15 billion, a PE ratio of 331.14, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $26.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.40.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 positive change from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCE. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 203,291 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,581,000 after purchasing an additional 5,158 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in BCE by 186.7% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 320,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,361,000 after buying an additional 208,425 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in BCE by 5.0% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 210,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,818,000 after buying an additional 9,954 shares during the period. First National Trust Co boosted its stake in BCE by 12.8% during the second quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 12,976 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Finally, Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of BCE by 2.1% during the second quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 3,514,662 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $113,812,000 after acquiring an additional 71,917 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

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.