Blair William & Co. IL Reduces Holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Blair William & Co. IL cut its holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,876 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,536 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Diageo were worth $5,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Diageo during the 4th quarter worth about $255,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Diageo by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,220,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,167,000 after buying an additional 103,540 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in shares of Diageo by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 41,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,253,000 after buying an additional 4,454 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in shares of Diageo by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Diageo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,924,000. 8.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diageo Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of DEO opened at $105.25 on Monday. Diageo plc has a twelve month low of $104.31 and a twelve month high of $149.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.85.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued 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 (DPR) is 46.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on DEO. TD Cowen boosted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group raised Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.00.

About Diageo

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.