Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Reduces Holdings in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,169,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 65,005 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $10,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $35,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,206,506 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vodafone Group in the fourth quarter valued at $21,969,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Vodafone Group by 18.1% during 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 buying an additional 2,238,935 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 749.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,151,935 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $18,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898,663 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vodafone Group in the fourth quarter valued at $10,583,000. 7.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VOD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. DZ Bank raised shares of Vodafone Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vodafone Group has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Vodafone Group Trading Up 0.1%

VOD traded up $0.01 on Monday, reaching $10.21. 14,729,173 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,966,176. Vodafone Group PLC has a twelve month low of $8.00 and a twelve month high of $10.60. The company's 50 day moving average is $9.77 and its 200-day moving average is $9.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $25.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 0.58.

Vodafone Group Cuts Dividend

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

About Vodafone Group

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.