Aviso Financial Inc. Decreases Stake in Rogers Communication, Inc. $RCI

Key Points

• Aviso Financial Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Rogers Communication by 73.2%, selling 357,406 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 131,032 shares valued at approximately $3.5 million.
• Despite Aviso's reduction, several other hedge funds increased their positions in Rogers Communication, with Value Partners Investments Inc. raising its stake by 1,252.8% during the same quarter.
• Rogers Communication recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3672 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.2% and a dividend payout ratio of 71.64%.

Aviso Financial Inc. reduced its position in Rogers Communication, Inc. (NYSE:RCI - Free Report) TSE: RCI.B by 73.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 131,032 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after selling 357,406 shares during the quarter. Aviso Financial Inc.'s holdings in Rogers Communication were worth $3,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Rogers Communication by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 3,509,952 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $93,828,000 after acquiring an additional 978,348 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in Rogers Communication by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 443,299 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $11,846,000 after acquiring an additional 99,168 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Rogers Communication by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 82,005 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $2,190,000 after acquiring an additional 3,697 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its stake in Rogers Communication by 2,470.6% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 20,668 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 19,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Rogers Communication in the 1st quarter worth about $200,000. 45.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Rogers Communication from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rogers Communication presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.00.

Rogers Communication Stock Up 0.2%

RCI traded up $0.0550 during trading on Friday, hitting $35.6550. The stock had a trading volume of 753,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,073,954. The company has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.77. Rogers Communication, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.18 and a twelve month high of $41.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.63.

Rogers Communication (NYSE:RCI - Get Free Report) TSE: RCI.B last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.12 billion. Rogers Communication had a net margin of 7.33% and a return on equity of 21.59%. Rogers Communication's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Rogers Communication, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Rogers Communication Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.3672 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is a positive change from Rogers Communication's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Rogers Communication's payout ratio is 72.64%.

About Rogers Communication

Rogers Communications Inc operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device financing, device protection, global voice and data roaming, wireless home phone, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device shipping and express pickup services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands.