Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Sells 646 Shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC reduced its position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 32,012 shares of the company’s stock after selling 646 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $4,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Canoe Financial LP boosted its position 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 worth $1,031,465,000 after purchasing an additional 8,104,301 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 9.1% during the third 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 13.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,254,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,042,000 after acquiring an additional 147,920 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 30.5% during the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,215,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,623,000 after acquiring an additional 284,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 25.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,116,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,759,000 after acquiring an additional 229,946 shares during the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DEO has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.00.

Diageo Price Performance

DEO stock opened at $107.45 on Friday. Diageo plc has a 52 week low of $105.72 and a 52 week high of $154.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.66.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a yield of 3.8%. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.28%.

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.