Bailard Inc. Buys 28,254 Shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD)

Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 71.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,966 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 28,254 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Vodafone Group by 341.2% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 4,146,322 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $35,202,000 after buying an additional 3,206,506 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vodafone Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $21,969,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its position in Vodafone Group by 18.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 272.9% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,253,059 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $21,111,000 after buying an additional 1,648,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,483,837 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $46,558,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VOD. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Vodafone Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Berenberg Bank upgraded Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Vodafone Group Price Performance

Shares of Vodafone Group stock opened at $10.97 on Friday. Vodafone Group PLC has a 52 week low of $8.00 and a 52 week high of $11.03. The stock has a market cap of $28.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.59. 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's 50-day moving average price is $10.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.38.

Vodafone Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.2355 dividend. This represents a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Vodafone Group's payout ratio is currently 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.

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