Royal Bank of Canada Sells 1,132,340 Shares of Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD)

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,957,023 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 1,132,340 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.12% of Vodafone Group Public worth $25,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Vodafone Group Public by 341.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 4,146,322 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $35,202,000 after acquiring an additional 3,206,506 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public during the fourth quarter worth about $22,646,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its stake in Vodafone Group Public by 18.1% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 2,238,935 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Vodafone Group Public by 749.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,151,935 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $18,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Vodafone Group Public in the fourth quarter worth about $10,583,000. 7.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VOD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Vodafone Group Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Vodafone Group Public from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Vodafone Group Public in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Vodafone Group Public from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Vodafone Group Public Price Performance

Vodafone Group Public stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $10.40. 13,807,992 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,584,822. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.61. Vodafone Group Public Limited has a 12 month low of $8.00 and a 12 month high of $10.60. The business's 50-day moving average is $9.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.93.

Vodafone Group Public Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.2355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a dividend yield of 6.6%. Vodafone Group Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.23%.

About Vodafone Group Public

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.