Mackay Shields LLC Decreases Position in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD)

Mackay Shields LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 34.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 766,022 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 400,000 shares during the quarter. Mackay Shields LLC's holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $7,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Vodafone Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $123,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Vodafone Group by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,881 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Vodafone Group by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 32,222 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 5,819 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Vodafone Group by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 48,028 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 5,692 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Vodafone Group by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 842,286 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,151,000 after purchasing an additional 67,086 shares during the period. 7.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vodafone Group Trading Up 0.8%

VOD stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.76. 7,778,356 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,218,091. Vodafone Group PLC has a 52-week low of $8.00 and a 52-week high of $10.93. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $10.04 and a 200-day moving average of $9.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.59.

Vodafone Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.2355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a yield of 6.6%. Vodafone Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank raised Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America lowered Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. DZ Bank raised Vodafone Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Vodafone Group in a research note on Wednesday. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold".

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.