Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Trims Stock Holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lowered its position in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,035 shares of the company’s stock after selling 213 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Diageo were worth $513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DEO. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. boosted its position in Diageo by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 2,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Diageo by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Diageo by 265.4% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 8,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 6,190 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 2,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Timber Creek Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Diageo by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 41,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,287,000 after acquiring an additional 8,613 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DEO has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diageo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.00.

Diageo Stock Up 2.4 %

DEO stock opened at $110.54 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $119.17 and its 200 day moving average is $125.49. The firm has a market cap of $61.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.66. Diageo plc has a one year low of $105.72 and a one year high of $154.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.28%.

Diageo Profile

Diageo plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, marketing, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The company offers scotch, gin, vodka, rum, raki, liqueur, wine, tequila, Chinese white spirits, cachaça, and brandy, as well as beer, including cider and flavored malt beverages. It also provides Chinese, Canadian, Irish, American, and Indian-Made Foreign Liquor whiskies, as well as flavored malt beverages, ready to drink, and non-alcoholic products.