Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) Shares Sold by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has reduced its stake in Vodafone Group PLC by 12.2%, selling 81,746 shares and leaving it with 589,039 shares valued at approximately $5.5 million.
• Several other investors have made significant adjustments to their holdings in Vodafone during the fourth quarter, including Geode Capital Management, which increased its position by 39.7%.
• Vodafone Group recently declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.2355 per share, with a dividend payout ratio of 42.98%.

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 12.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 589,039 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 81,746 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $5,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VOD. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC raised its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 16.8% during 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 during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,998,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $56,205,000 after buying an additional 944,189 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vodafone Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,499,770 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $51,533,000 after purchasing an additional 69,986 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Vodafone Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,307,572 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $36,571,000 after purchasing an additional 76,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 valued at $35,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,206,506 shares during the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vodafone Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ VOD traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $11.67. 3,318,117 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,902,356. The company has a market cap of $28.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.62. Vodafone Group PLC has a 12-month low of $8.00 and a 12-month high of $11.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $10.79 and a 200 day moving average of $9.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.26 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.2355 per share. This represents a yield of 660.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Vodafone Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of 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, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $136.00.

Vodafone Group 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.