Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 12,567 Shares of Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI - Free Report) TSE: RCI.B by 115.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,467 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,567 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Rogers Communications were worth $721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RCI. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Rogers Communications by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 23,563 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,194 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 21,943 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 136,766 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $5,550,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Rogers Communications by 95.1% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.49% of the company's stock.

Rogers Communications Stock Down 0.6 %

RCI traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.39. 1,129,449 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,018,634. Rogers Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.18 and a 1 year high of $41.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.96.

Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI - Get Free Report) TSE: RCI.B last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.07. Rogers Communications had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 25.19%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rogers Communications Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Rogers Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.347 per share. This represents a $1.39 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Rogers Communications's payout ratio is 59.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Rogers Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America downgraded Rogers Communications from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Rogers Communications in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Rogers Communications from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Rogers Communications 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.