Keating Investment Counselors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Vodafone Group PLC $VOD

Keating Investment Counselors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 704,559 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 49,225 shares during the quarter. Vodafone Group makes up approximately 2.3% of Keating Investment Counselors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Keating Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $8,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VOD. WESPAC Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vodafone Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 96,003 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,114,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the period. Fourpath Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 21,225 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 940 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 77,232 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 32,248 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Vodafone Group by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 32,523 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.84% of the company’s stock.

Vodafone Group Price Performance

Shares of Vodafone Group stock opened at $13.18 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Vodafone Group PLC has a 1 year low of $8.00 and a 1 year high of $13.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.86.

Vodafone Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th will be given a $0.2567 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. This represents a yield of 434.0%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VOD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Vodafone Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Vodafone Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas raised shares of Vodafone Group to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

About Vodafone Group

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.