Vodafone Group PLC $VOD is ABC Arbitrage SA’s Largest Position

ABC Arbitrage SA grew its holdings in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,326,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,922 shares during the quarter. Vodafone Group comprises 6.6% of ABC Arbitrage SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. ABC Arbitrage SA’s holdings in Vodafone Group were worth $49,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayban boosted its holdings in Vodafone Group by 6,696.7% in the first quarter. Bayban now owns 2,039 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Vodafone Group by 156.8% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,275 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Vodafone Group by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Vodafone Group by 81.8% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,651 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in Vodafone Group by 207.6% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 2,215 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.84% of the company’s stock.

Vodafone Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: e& agreed to sell its 16.2% Vodafone stake to Niel’s Vega for $5.95 billion, a large transaction that has boosted investor optimism around Vodafone’s ownership structure and valuation. Niel family’s Vega to acquire 16.2% Vodafone stake from e& for $5.95bn
• Positive Sentiment: Vodafone shares extended gains as the stake-sale news sparked market optimism, with traders betting the move could support a rerating of the stock. Vodafone Shares Extend Gains After Niel Investment Sparks Market Optimism (VOD)
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed heavy call buying in Vodafone, indicating that some investors are positioning for further upside in the shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Vodafone also highlighted its BESTT route to a greener radio access network, a longer-term operational and sustainability effort that is unlikely to move the stock immediately. Vodafone takes the BESTT route to a green RAN
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market commentary noted the FTSE 100 was little changed despite geopolitical concerns; this provides context but is not a Vodafone-specific driver. FTSE 100 dodges Iran shock as oil giants ignite a fresh rally
• Negative Sentiment: No major negative company-specific catalyst was highlighted in the latest articles; the main risk is that excitement around the stake sale could fade if investors wait for more fundamental improvements.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VOD shares. DZ Bank downgraded Vodafone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vodafone Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. New Street Research raised Vodafone Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group upgraded Vodafone Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Barclays downgraded Vodafone Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vodafone Group presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $52.38.

Vodafone Group Price Performance

Vodafone Group stock opened at $15.47 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $14.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.69. Vodafone Group PLC has a 1-year low of $10.66 and a 1-year high of $16.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Vodafone Group Announces Dividend

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

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.