Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 99 Shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,050 shares of the company’s stock after selling 99 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $1,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 4.4% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 158,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,234,000 after acquiring an additional 6,617 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 88,407.3% in 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 during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 32.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 65,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,248,000 after acquiring an additional 16,285 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 9.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,242,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,671,000 after acquiring an additional 437,646 shares during the period. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 13,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after acquiring an additional 2,593 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Trading Up 5.4 %

DEO stock opened at $114.12 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65. Diageo plc has a 12 month low of $105.72 and a 12 month high of $151.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $116.44 and its 200 day moving average is $124.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DEO. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group raised shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.00.

Diageo Company 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.