Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Trims Stake in Vodafone Group PLC $VOD

Key Points

• Envestnet Asset Management reduced its Vodafone stake by 5.6% in the second quarter, selling 314,928 shares and retaining 5.33 million shares worth approximately $70.5 million.
• Other institutional investors generally increased their holdings, while hedge funds and institutional investors collectively own 7.84% of Vodafone.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with three Buy, three Hold and four Sell ratings; MarketBeat reports a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.57, below the stock’s recent $16.62 price.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,329,612 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 314,928 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.23% of Vodafone Group worth $70,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VOD. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 26,854,952 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $403,361,000 after buying an additional 784,305 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,286,509 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $201,935,000 after purchasing an additional 182,574 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 9,637.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,902,486 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $117,602,000 after purchasing an additional 8,811,061 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA increased its stake in Vodafone Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 3,326,511 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $49,964,000 after buying an additional 98,922 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Vodafone Group by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,446,646 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $19,110,000 after buying an additional 89,434 shares during the period. 7.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. New Street Research raised shares of Vodafone Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Vodafone Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Vodafone Group from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vodafone Group has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $10.57.

Vodafone Group Price Performance

Shares of VOD stock opened at $16.62 on Friday. Vodafone Group PLC has a 12-month low of $11.12 and a 12-month high of $17.71. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $16.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Vodafone Group Company Profile

Vodafone Group Plc is a British multinational telecommunications company that provides mobile and fixed-line connectivity, broadband, voice, messaging and related digital services. Its offerings serve individual consumers, households, businesses and public-sector organizations, with services delivered through local Vodafone operations and partner networks.

The company also provides enterprise communications and technology solutions, including cloud and hosting services, cybersecurity, the Internet of Things, unified communications and managed connectivity.

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