UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Raises PT to $53 on Viacom

In a research note, Goldman Sachs reiterates its Buy rating on Viacom Inc. VIA and raises its price target to $53 from $51 as increased buyback overshadows advertising and ratings weakness. According to Goldman, “Viacom reported 4QFY2011 EPS of $1.06, above GS/consensus estimates of $0.99/$1.02 driven by better-than-expected Film revenue; cable ad growth of 7% was slightly below GS/consensus estimates of 9%. VIA increased its share repurchase authorization from $4 bn to $10 bn, of which $7.5 bn remains and VIA expects to complete over the next 8-10 quarters. We raise our FY12 and FY13 EPS by 0.5% and 6% to $4.33 and $5.24 due to the higher share repurchase and introduce FY14 EPS of $6.30.” VIA.B edged up 8.21 percent to close at $43.61 on Thursday.