Vodafone Group PLC $VOD is ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC’s 5th Largest Position

ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC raised its stake in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,854,952 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 784,305 shares during the period. Vodafone Group comprises 6.0% of ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC’s holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $403,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 156.8% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,275 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Bayban grew its stake in Vodafone Group by 6,696.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 2,039 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC increased its position in Vodafone Group by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Vodafone Group by 81.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,651 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Vodafone Group by 38.0% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.84% of the company’s stock.

Vodafone Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:VOD opened at $14.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.66. Vodafone Group PLC has a 1-year low of $10.66 and a 1-year high of $16.60.

Vodafone Group Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting Vodafone Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: French telecom billionaire Xavier Niel agreed to buy Emirates Telecommunications’ entire 16.2% stake in Vodafone for about $5.9 billion, making him Vodafone’s largest shareholder and signaling renewed strategic interest in the company. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Market sentiment improved further after New Street Research upgraded Vodafone from “neutral” to “buy,” reinforcing the idea that the stock may have more upside following recent restructuring and ownership developments.
• Positive Sentiment: Shares also benefited from broader media coverage of the transaction as a potential catalyst for a European telecom reset, with investors viewing the deal as supportive of Vodafone’s valuation and strategic optionality. RCR Wireless article
• Neutral Sentiment: Vodafone’s move was also part of a broader market bounce in London, with telecom and other large-cap names rising as investors digested deal news and sector developments. Reuters article

Analyst Ratings Changes

VOD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vodafone Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. New Street Research upgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America downgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $13.13 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Zacks Research cut shares of Vodafone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $52.38.

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.