Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires New Stake in Vodafone Group PLC $VOD

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC recently acquired 32,380 shares of Vodafone Group PLC, valued at approximately $303,000.
• Several large investors, including Ameriprise Financial and Bank of America, have increased their stakes in Vodafone Group during the fourth quarter.
• Vodafone Group's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average target price set at $136.00 by Wall Street analysts.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 32,380 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VOD. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 65.5% during the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 3,159 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Vodafone Group during the first quarter worth $31,000. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Vodafone Group by 116,833.3% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,508 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3,505 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vodafone Group during the first quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services grew its holdings in Vodafone Group by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 9,794 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.84% of the company's stock.

Vodafone Group Price Performance

Shares of VOD stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.43. The stock had a trading volume of 4,629,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,435,438. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $27.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.65. Vodafone Group PLC has a 12-month low of $8.00 and a 12-month high of $12.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Vodafone Group Company 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.