Royal Bank of Canada Increases Stock Position in Vodafone Group PLC $VOD

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,117,008 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 159,985 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.12% of Vodafone Group worth $29,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Vodafone Group by 57,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,952 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 29,900 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vodafone Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,117,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Vodafone Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $970,000. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vodafone Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vodafone Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Vodafone Group Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of Vodafone Group stock traded down $0.21 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.65. 4,522,932 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,202,468. The stock has a market cap of $28.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $11.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.19. Vodafone Group PLC has a 12-month low of $8.00 and a 12-month high of $12.06. 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 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.