Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 197.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,191 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 217.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BCE shares. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. National Bank Financial upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.67.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE:BCE traded down $0.19 on Wednesday, hitting $21.47. The stock had a trading volume of 2,656,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,942,514. BCE Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $36.17. The stock has a market cap of $20.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 178.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $22.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.78.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.92 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. BCE's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.