First Eagle Investment Management LLC Sells 8,606 Shares of Diageo plc $DEO

First Eagle Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,606 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $10,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 3,885.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 123.6% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 8,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX bought a new position in shares of Diageo during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Diageo during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 8.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diageo Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of DEO stock opened at $81.10 on Wednesday. Diageo plc has a 52-week low of $72.45 and a 52-week high of $116.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.92.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC cut Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research raised Diageo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Monday, April 20th. Argus raised Diageo to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.50.

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.