Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on BCE (NYSE:BCE)

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in a research note published on Monday. The firm issued an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on BCE. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $23.40 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.18. BCE has a twelve month low of $23.03 and a twelve month high of $41.77. The company has a market capitalization of $21.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 334.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.60%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in BCE by 3,355.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,450,000 after buying an additional 1,798,427 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 5,036.0% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328,042 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 48.7% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in BCE by 23.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in BCE by 12.0% in the second 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.