Cetera Investment Advisers Boosts Stock Holdings in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Vodafone Group PLC by 30.9%, holding 671,895 shares valued at approximately $6.3 million.
• Several institutional investors have adjusted their holdings, with Atria Investments increasing its position by 17.0% and ACR Alpine Capital Research boosting theirs by 16.8%.
• Vodafone Group's stock received mixed ratings from analysts, with some lowering their recommendations and an average target price set at $136.00.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 30.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 671,895 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 158,522 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $6,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC increased its position in Vodafone Group by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 25,696,928 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $240,780,000 after buying an additional 3,690,617 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Vodafone Group by 341.2% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 4,146,322 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $35,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,206,506 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vodafone Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,969,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $123,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Vodafone Group by 272.9% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,253,059 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $21,111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648,879 shares during the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VOD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Vodafone Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $136.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley initiated 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 research note on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.00.

Vodafone Group Price Performance

Shares of Vodafone Group stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Monday, hitting $11.04. The stock had a trading volume of 7,708,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,544,208. The firm has a market cap of $26.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.62. Vodafone Group PLC has a 12 month low of $8.00 and a 12 month high of $11.66. The business's 50-day moving average is $10.60 and its 200 day moving average is $9.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Vodafone Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.2355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a yield of 660.0%. Vodafone Group's payout ratio is 42.98%.

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.