Optimist Retirement Group LLC Lowers Holdings in Diageo plc $DEO

Optimist Retirement Group LLC cut its holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 63.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,104 shares during the quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Diageo by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,701,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,410,000 after purchasing an additional 555,509 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Diageo by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,547,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,690,000 after acquiring an additional 121,008 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in Diageo by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 1,371,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,337,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Diageo by 67.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,309,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,943,000 after acquiring an additional 527,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Diageo by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,276,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,824,000 after acquiring an additional 4,227 shares during the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Diageo Stock Performance

NYSE DEO opened at $85.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $79.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.23. Diageo plc has a fifty-two week low of $72.45 and a fifty-two week high of $116.41.

Diageo Announces Dividend

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

Diageo 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.