Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Acquires 358 Shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 17.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,465 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Diageo by 1,034.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 799,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,443,000 after purchasing an additional 729,166 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Diageo by 416.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 521,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,939,000 after buying an additional 420,778 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Diageo by 52.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 853,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,800,000 after buying an additional 293,017 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its stake in Diageo by 12,174.6% during the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 246,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,045,000 after buying an additional 244,223 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Diageo by 7.0% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,351,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,785,000 after acquiring an additional 154,497 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DEO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Diageo Stock Performance

Diageo stock opened at $133.28 on Friday. Diageo plc has a fifty-two week low of $119.48 and a fifty-two week high of $161.64. The company has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $133.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio is 71.37%.

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.