Raymond James & Associates Purchases 12,562 Shares of Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI)

Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 75,672 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,562 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Rogers Communications were worth $3,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RCI. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Rogers Communications by 2,701.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,292,839 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $126,411,000 after acquiring an additional 3,175,319 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 36.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,451,922 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $170,909,000 after buying an additional 1,177,772 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 592.7% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,280,700 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $58,472,000 after buying an additional 1,095,806 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 452.6% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,280,731 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $49,359,000 after buying an additional 1,048,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 106.9% during the first quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,939,079 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $89,896,000 after buying an additional 1,001,888 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.49% of the company’s stock.

Rogers Communications Stock Down 2.8 %

RCI stock opened at $38.06 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.81. Rogers Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.55 and a 1-year high of $50.00. The stock has a market cap of $20.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59.

Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. Rogers Communications had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 4.38%. The business had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.99 billion. Analysts expect that Rogers Communications Inc. will post 3.62 EPS for the current year.

Rogers Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.3742 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. This is a boost from Rogers Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Rogers Communications’s payout ratio is currently 122.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RCI. Barclays cut their target price on Rogers Communications from $52.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Rogers Communications from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

About Rogers Communications

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.