Kestra Advisory Services LLC Buys 22,750 Shares of Vodafone Group PLC $VOD

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Vodafone Group PLC by 5.1%, owning a total of 464,950 shares valued at $4.36 million as of the latest quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have also raised their holdings in Vodafone, with ACR Alpine Capital Research's stake increasing by 16.8% to nearly 25.7 million shares.
• Equities analysts have downgraded Vodafone's rating, with Goldman Sachs moving it from "neutral" to "sell", indicating a consensus target price of $136.00.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 464,950 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 22,750 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $4,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VOD. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC grew its holdings in Vodafone Group by 16.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,690,617 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Vodafone Group by 341.2% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 4,146,322 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $35,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,206,506 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vodafone Group in the fourth quarter worth about $21,969,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $21,111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648,879 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Vodafone Group by 63,786.2% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,597,156 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594,656 shares during the period. 7.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VOD shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Vodafone Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $136.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Vodafone Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $136.00.

Vodafone Group Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:VOD traded up $0.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $11.96. 4,050,907 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,215,730. The stock has a market cap of $29.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.06. Vodafone Group PLC has a 52-week low of $8.00 and a 52-week high of $12.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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.