ABC Arbitrage SA Purchases 673,508 Shares of Vodafone Group PLC $VOD

ABC Arbitrage SA lifted its position in shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) by 22.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,646,412 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 673,508 shares during the period. Vodafone Group makes up approximately 4.2% of ABC Arbitrage SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. ABC Arbitrage SA owned about 0.15% of Vodafone Group worth $42,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VOD. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 903 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Vodafone Group by 7.6% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,890 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Vodafone Group by 3.9% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 32,248 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 3.9% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 32,523 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 1,223 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 89,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.84% of the company’s stock.

Vodafone Group Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:VOD opened at $15.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.35. Vodafone Group PLC has a twelve month low of $8.05 and a twelve month high of $15.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upgraded Vodafone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Vodafone Group to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Vodafone Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Vodafone Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vodafone Group has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average 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.