Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 939 Shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. cut its position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 37.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,589 shares of the company’s stock after selling 939 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DEO. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Diageo in the third quarter valued at $1,144,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Diageo by 160.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after buying an additional 8,775 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Diageo by 28.3% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 59,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,310,000 after buying an additional 13,061 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in Diageo by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $837,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Diageo by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 2,866 shares during the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diageo Stock Down 1.2 %

DEO opened at $112.81 on Monday. Diageo plc has a fifty-two week low of $105.72 and a fifty-two week high of $151.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $62.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $115.90 and a 200-day moving average of $124.32.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DEO has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.00.

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.