Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 55.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,339,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 478,512 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.15% of BCE worth $31,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC purchased a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in BCE by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BCE Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE BCE traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.70. The company had a trading volume of 5,091,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,891,087. The business's 50-day moving average is $22.47 and its 200 day moving average is $24.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $20.93 billion, a PE ratio of 189.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $36.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.92 billion. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. BCE's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.00.

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.