American Century Companies Inc. Raises Holdings in Vodafone Group PLC $VOD

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Vodafone Group PLC by 26.4%, acquiring an additional 346,458 shares, bringing its total ownership to 1,661,165 shares worth approximately $15.57 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have modified their holdings, with Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increasing their stake by 65.5% and NBC Securities Inc. drastically increasing theirs by over 116,000% during the same quarter.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Vodafone, with Goldman Sachs downgrading their rating to "sell" while Zacks Research raised it to "hold." The average consensus price target is set at $136.00.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 26.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,661,165 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 346,458 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Vodafone Group worth $15,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. grew its stake in Vodafone Group by 172.9% in the first quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 27,760 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 17,588 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Vodafone Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 92,068 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $863,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Vodafone Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Vodafone Group by 3.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 206,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,935,000 after acquiring an additional 7,152 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP grew its stake in Vodafone Group by 268.2% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 47,500 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 34,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.84% of the company's stock.

Vodafone Group Stock Performance

VOD stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $11.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,810,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,529,666. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $11.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Vodafone Group PLC has a 1 year low of $8.00 and a 1 year high of $12.06. The stock has a market cap of $28.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VOD shares. Berenberg Bank raised Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Vodafone Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Vodafone Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $136.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $136.00.

Vodafone Group Profile

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company provides telecommunication services in Europe and internationally. It offers mobile connectivity services comprising end-to-end services for mobile voice and data, messaging, device management, BYOx, and telecoms management, as well as professional and consulting services; and fixed line connectivity, such as fixed voice and data, broadband, software-defined networks, managed WAN, LAN, ethernet, and satellite; and financial services, as well as business and merchant services.