Atria Investments Inc Acquires 142,983 Shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD)

Key Points

• Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Vodafone Group PLC by 17.0%, acquiring an additional 142,983 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 985,269 shares valued at approximately $9.23 million.
• The stock has received mixed analyst ratings, with Berenberg Bank upgrading it to a "hold" rating, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. continues to rate it as "underweight."
• Vodafone Group recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.2355 per share, resulting in a yield of 6.6%, with an ex-dividend date set for June 6th.

Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 17.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 985,269 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 142,983 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $9,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VOD. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 16.8% during the first quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 25,696,928 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $240,780,000 after buying an additional 3,690,617 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its position in Vodafone Group by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 14,598,375 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $123,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238,935 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Vodafone Group by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,027,376 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $76,642,000 after acquiring an additional 255,623 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 18.7% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,998,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $56,205,000 after purchasing an additional 944,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,499,770 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $51,533,000 after purchasing an additional 69,986 shares during the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VOD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold".

Vodafone Group Price Performance

NASDAQ VOD traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $11.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,520,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,099,653. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.53 and a 200 day moving average of $9.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.59. Vodafone Group PLC has a one year low of $8.00 and a one year high of $11.66.

Vodafone Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.2355 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Vodafone Group's payout ratio is 41.23%.

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.