Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Position in Diageo plc $DEO

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 2,282.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 438,237 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 419,844 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $35,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Diageo by 48.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,701,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,410,000 after buying an additional 555,509 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Diageo by 8.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Diageo by 67.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Diageo by 0.3% during 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. Finally, Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 813,973 shares in the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diageo Stock Performance

DEO stock opened at $83.81 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $78.37 and its 200 day moving average is $86.53. Diageo plc has a 12 month low of $72.45 and a 12 month high of $116.41.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Diageo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Diageo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diageo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.50.

About Diageo

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.