Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Increases Stake in Rogers Communication, Inc. $RCI

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs significantly increased its holdings in Rogers Communication by 303.8% in the 1st quarter, owning 5,538,620 shares valued at approximately $148.05 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, have also increased stakes in Rogers Communication, indicating robust institutional interest in the stock.
• Rogers Communication recently boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.3672, representing an annualized yield of 4.1%, with a payout ratio of 71.64%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Rogers Communication, Inc. (NYSE:RCI - Free Report) TSE: RCI.B by 303.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,538,620 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,166,861 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 1.03% of Rogers Communication worth $148,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RCI. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Rogers Communication by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 158,002 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $4,855,000 after acquiring an additional 15,295 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Rogers Communication by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 55,041 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $1,812,000 after buying an additional 10,405 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Rogers Communication by 224.5% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 121,483 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $3,733,000 after buying an additional 84,047 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Rogers Communication by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 552,776 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $16,987,000 after buying an additional 19,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Rogers Communication by 210.8% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 30,718 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $944,000 after buying an additional 20,833 shares during the last quarter. 45.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RCI. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Rogers Communication from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned 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 a consensus price target of $59.00.

Rogers Communication Trading Down 0.6%

RCI stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 739,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 811,420. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $34.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.45. Rogers Communication, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.18 and a 1 year high of $41.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Rogers Communication Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This is a positive change from Rogers Communication's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Rogers Communication's payout ratio is 71.64%.

Rogers Communication Company Profile

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.