HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Purchases 564 Shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,901 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DEO. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in shares of Diageo by 88,407.3% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 8,113,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,465,000 after acquiring an additional 8,104,301 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,220,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,167,000 after acquiring an additional 103,540 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,132,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,917,000 after acquiring an additional 140,587 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Diageo by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,114,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,682,000 after acquiring an additional 58,206 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Diageo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,892,000. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DEO shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Diageo in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diageo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.00.

Diageo Stock Performance

NYSE:DEO opened at $106.64 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.35. 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 plc has a 52-week low of $103.70 and a 52-week high of $148.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.32 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

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

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.