HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 44,770 Shares of Vodafone Group PLC $VOD

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Vodafone Group PLC by 15.6%, selling 44,770 shares and leaving it with 242,690 shares valued at approximately $2.27 million.
• Several large investors have significantly increased their holdings in Vodafone, with Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. upping their stake by 65.5% and NBC Securities Inc. boosting it by an astonishing 116,833.3%.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments about Vodafone, with one upgrade to "hold" and a downgrade from The Goldman Sachs Group to "sell," setting a target price of $136.00.

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 242,690 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 44,770 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $2,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 65.5% in the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 3,159 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Vodafone Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. NBC Securities Inc. boosted 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 258.0% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 5,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 3,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 509.7% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 6,829 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 5,709 shares in the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $136.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Vodafone Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $136.00.

Vodafone Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:VOD traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $11.91. 4,289,272 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,520,103. The business's 50-day moving average price is $11.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.96. The company has a market cap of $28.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.62. Vodafone Group PLC has a 12-month low of $8.00 and a 12-month high of $12.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

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.