Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 46,865 Shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 115.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,569 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 46,865 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Vodafone Group by 18.1% during the 4th 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Vodafone Group by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,027,376 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $76,642,000 after buying an additional 255,623 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $56,205,000 after buying an additional 944,189 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vodafone Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,499,770 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $51,533,000 after buying an additional 69,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Vodafone Group by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,483,837 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $46,558,000 after buying an additional 1,206,256 shares in the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vodafone Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of VOD traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $11.43. The stock had a trading volume of 6,520,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,099,653. 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 PLC has a 52 week low of $8.00 and a 52 week high of $11.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.53 and a 200 day moving average of $9.48. The company has a market cap of $29.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.59.

Vodafone Group Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on VOD. Berenberg Bank raised Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Vodafone Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold".

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.