Vodafone Group PLC $VOD Stake Increased by Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vodafone Group PLC by 70.7%, owning 633,376 shares valued at approximately $5,935,000 as of the end of the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Vodafone, with Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raising their stake by 65.5%.
• Analysts have given Vodafone a mixed outlook, with Zacks Research upgrading it to a "hold" rating, while Goldman Sachs downgraded it from "neutral" to "sell" with a price target of $136.00.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 70.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 633,376 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 262,364 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC's holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $5,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 9.8% in the first quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 14,700 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 92,068 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 1,318 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 4.9% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 28,435 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vodafone Group by 11.2% during the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,531 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Vodafone Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Vodafone Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $136.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vodafone Group has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $136.00.

Vodafone Group Stock Down 0.4%

Vodafone Group stock opened at $11.87 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.26. Vodafone Group PLC has a one year low of $8.00 and a one year high of $11.99.

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.

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