D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Purchases 3,206,506 Shares of Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD - Free Report) by 341.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,146,322 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 3,206,506 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.16% of Vodafone Group Public worth $35,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VOD. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 14,409 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,454 shares in the last quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 20,395 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 10,819 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,470 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,881 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.84% of the company's stock.

Vodafone Group Public Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of VOD traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.40. 8,213,084 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,807,697. Vodafone Group Public Limited has a 52 week low of $8.00 and a 52 week high of $10.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company's 50 day moving average is $9.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.88. The company has a market capitalization of $23.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VOD has been the topic of several analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Vodafone Group Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America downgraded Vodafone Group Public from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Vodafone Group Public from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Vodafone Group Public in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Vodafone Group Public 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.