Diageo plc $DEO Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 53.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,452 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75,259 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $5,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DEO. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Diageo by 48.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,701,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,410,000 after acquiring an additional 555,509 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Diageo by 0.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Diageo by 0.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its position in shares of Diageo by 236.6% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 1,157,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,772,000 after acquiring an additional 813,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Diageo by 37.9% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 989,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,460,000 after acquiring an additional 272,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Price Performance

Shares of DEO stock opened at $80.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.45. 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 twelve month low of $72.45 and a twelve month high of $116.41.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 195.0%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DEO shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Diageo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. HSBC lowered shares of Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.50.

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.