Vodafone Group Public (NASDAQ:VOD) Sets New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $10.41 and last traded at $10.39, with a volume of 29673755 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.64.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.2355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a yield of 6.6%. Vodafone Group Public’s payout ratio is currently 39.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VOD shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Vodafone Group Public in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Vodafone Group Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Vodafone Group Public Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $26.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $9.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vodafone Group Public

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VOD. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 31,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 4,332 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 19,598 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 5,932 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 197,268 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 3,423 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vodafone Group Public during the fourth quarter worth about $797,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,234,404 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,480,000 after acquiring an additional 28,084 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.84% of the company’s stock.

Vodafone Group Public Company 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.