Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Sells 122,631 Shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD)

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Vodafone Group PLC by 87.7%, now holding only 17,164 shares worth $161,000.
• Other institutional investors, such as ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC and Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC, have increased their holdings in Vodafone Group during the recent quarters.
• Wall Street analysts have generally rated Vodafone stock as a "hold," with some rating it as "underweight," should investors exercise caution regarding future performance.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 87.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,164 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 122,631 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 65.5% during the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 3,159 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vodafone Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 116,833.3% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,508 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Vodafone Group by 258.0% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 5,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 3,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vodafone Group in the first quarter worth approximately $60,000. Institutional investors own 7.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VOD shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Vodafone Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Vodafone Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.00.

Vodafone Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VOD traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.96. 10,487,991 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,019,809. The company has a market capitalization of $28.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.62. Vodafone Group PLC has a 1 year low of $8.00 and a 1 year high of $11.66. The company's 50-day moving average is $10.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Vodafone Group Cuts Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a dividend yield of 660.0%. Vodafone Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.98%.

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.