Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,734 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $12,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DEO. Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in Diageo by 88,407.3% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 8,113,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,031,465,000 after acquiring an additional 8,104,301 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Diageo during the 4th quarter worth $123,892,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Diageo by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,242,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $735,671,000 after acquiring an additional 437,646 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in Diageo during the 4th quarter worth $37,777,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,116,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,759,000 after buying an additional 229,946 shares during the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Diageo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.00.

Diageo Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Diageo stock opened at $108.28 on Wednesday. Diageo plc has a 52-week low of $105.72 and a 52-week high of $149.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.42%.

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.