Vodafone Group PLC $VOD Shares Bought by ABC Arbitrage SA

Key Points

• ABC Arbitrage SA increased its Vodafone stake by 3.1% in the first quarter, adding 98,922 shares to bring its total to 3.33 million shares. Vodafone is now the fund’s largest holding, representing about 6.6% of its portfolio.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but cautious, with recent rating changes including upgrades from New Street Research and Wall Street Zen, but downgrades from Zacks, Weiss Ratings, and Barclays. Overall, MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of “Reduce” with an average target price of $52.38.
• Vodafone has been trading higher and announced a dividend; shares were up 5.1% and opened at $15.47, near the upper end of their 52-week range. The company also declared a dividend of $0.2766 per share payable on July 30.

ABC Arbitrage SA lifted its position in shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,326,511 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 98,922 shares during the quarter. Vodafone Group accounts for approximately 6.6% of ABC Arbitrage SA's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. ABC Arbitrage SA owned 0.14% of Vodafone Group worth $49,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VOD. American Capital Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 53,804 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,603 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,524 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,435 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VOD shares. New Street Research raised shares of Vodafone Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Vodafone Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vodafone Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 31st. Weiss Ratings cut Vodafone Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Vodafone Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $52.38.

Vodafone Group Trading Up 5.1%

Vodafone Group stock opened at $15.47 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Vodafone Group PLC has a fifty-two week low of $10.66 and a fifty-two week high of $16.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $14.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.69.

Vodafone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.2766 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a yield of 376.0%.

Key Stories Impacting Vodafone Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Vodafone Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: e& agreed to sell its 16.2% Vodafone stake to Niel’s Vega for $5.95 billion, a large transaction that has boosted investor optimism around Vodafone’s ownership structure and valuation. Niel family’s Vega to acquire 16.2% Vodafone stake from e& for $5.95bn
• Positive Sentiment: Vodafone shares extended gains as the stake-sale news sparked market optimism, with traders betting the move could support a rerating of the stock. Vodafone Shares Extend Gains After Niel Investment Sparks Market Optimism (VOD)
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed heavy call buying in Vodafone, indicating that some investors are positioning for further upside in the shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Vodafone also highlighted its BESTT route to a greener radio access network, a longer-term operational and sustainability effort that is unlikely to move the stock immediately. Vodafone takes the BESTT route to a green RAN
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market commentary noted the FTSE 100 was little changed despite geopolitical concerns; this provides context but is not a Vodafone-specific driver. FTSE 100 dodges Iran shock as oil giants ignite a fresh rally
• Negative Sentiment: No major negative company-specific catalyst was highlighted in the latest articles; the main risk is that excitement around the stake sale could fade if investors wait for more fundamental improvements.

Vodafone Group Company Profile

Vodafone Group plc is a British multinational telecommunications company headquartered in London. It provides a wide range of communications services to consumer and enterprise customers, including mobile voice and data, fixed-line broadband, cable and pay-TV, and wholesale network services. The company also offers business-oriented solutions such as cloud and hosting, managed networks, unified communications, and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and platform services.

Vodafone operates through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and partner arrangements across multiple countries, with a particularly large presence in Europe and in several African markets.

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