Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 2,186 Shares of Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Vodafone Group Public were worth $592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Vodafone Group Public during the 3rd quarter valued at $82,716,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 445.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,805,044 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,055,000 after purchasing an additional 3,107,734 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 345.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,026,713 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,786,000 after buying an additional 2,346,815 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Vodafone Group Public by 1,119.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 942,179 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,441,000 after buying an additional 864,924 shares during the period. Finally, Clifford Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,012,210 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $17,848,000 after purchasing an additional 465,802 shares in the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Vodafone Group Public Stock Performance

Shares of VOD opened at $8.42 on Tuesday. Vodafone Group Public Limited has a 52 week low of $8.02 and a 52 week high of $10.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.77.

Vodafone Group Public Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.2423 per share. This represents a yield of 8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Vodafone Group Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.86%.

About Vodafone Group Public

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.