Gabelli Funds LLC Grows Stock Position in Diageo plc $DEO

Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 570,050 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,500 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $49,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its position in Diageo by 3.5% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its position in Diageo by 2.0% in the third quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 5,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC raised its position in Diageo by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 4,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its position in Diageo by 4.9% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 2,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Bank raised its position in Diageo by 5.9% in the third quarter. Essex Bank now owns 2,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC lowered Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Argus raised Diageo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Monday, April 20th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.50.

Diageo Stock Performance

NYSE:DEO opened at $81.73 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.60. Diageo plc has a 52 week low of $72.45 and a 52 week high of $116.41.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 195.0%.

Diageo Company Profile

Diageo plc is a global producer, marketer and distributor of alcoholic beverages, headquartered in London, England. The company was created through the 1997 merger of Guinness plc and Grand Metropolitan plc and is publicly traded on multiple exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO) and the London Stock Exchange. Diageo operates a worldwide business, selling products in a broad range of markets across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Diageo’s core activities cover the production, marketing and sale of a diverse portfolio of spirits, beer and liqueurs.