Great Hill Capital LLC Takes Position in Diageo plc $DEO

Great Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 33,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,000. Diageo accounts for 0.5% of Great Hill Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Diageo by 72,871.7% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,568,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,133,000 after buying an additional 1,566,013 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,547,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,690,000 after acquiring an additional 121,008 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,363,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,119,000 after acquiring an additional 12,678 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 67.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,309,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,943,000 after purchasing an additional 527,814 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,276,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,824,000 after purchasing an additional 4,227 shares during the period. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $124.00 price objective on Diageo and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Diageo from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.50.

Key Diageo News

Here are the key news stories impacting Diageo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New CEO signals a strategic pivot toward portfolio growth and restructuring, and management says it needs financial flexibility to invest in brands — a potential long-term positive if execution restores top-line momentum. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released Q2 2026 prepared remarks and earnings-call transcripts that detail the results and assumptions behind the revised outlook — useful for investors modeling near-term revenue and margin trajectories. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Diageo cut its interim dividend sharply (reported as an ~80% cut in some outlets; management reset payout policy to 30–50% of earnings), reducing immediate shareholder income and signaling that management prefers to preserve cash for strategic moves. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Management cut FY guidance and now expects organic net sales declines (management cited a 2–3% decline expectation), driven by softer U.S. demand and weakness in Chinese white spirits — a direct hit to growth forecasts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Product-level weakness: tequila volumes plunged (reported ~23% decline in the six months to end-2025), highlighting category and U.S. consumer-pressure risks that directly affect premium-margin growth. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares fell sharply on the combined dividend/guidance news and heavy trading; near-term investor sentiment is weak as analysts and the market re-price earnings and yield expectations. Article Title

Diageo Trading Down 15.5%

DEO stock opened at $86.27 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $91.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Diageo plc has a 1 year low of $84.52 and a 1 year high of $116.69.

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.