Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 17,000 Shares of Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD)

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD) by 1.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 989,100 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 17,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Vodafone Group Public were worth $8,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 181,381 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 52,810 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 7,472 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,411 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 101.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 20,660 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 10,385 shares during the period. Tevis Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Vodafone Group Public during the fourth quarter worth $421,000. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 9,269,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $80,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VOD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Vodafone Group Public in a report on Thursday, June 20th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, New Street Research upgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vodafone Group Public presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.45.

Vodafone Group Public Price Performance

VOD stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.47. The stock had a trading volume of 4,176,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,763,027. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Vodafone Group Public Limited has a 1-year low of $8.02 and a 1-year high of $10.19. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $9.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.84.

Vodafone Group Public Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.469 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 9.6%.

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.