River Road Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Diageo plc $DEO

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 240,805 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,528 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $20,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DEO. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in Diageo by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust Co increased its position in Diageo by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 2,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in Diageo by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its stake in Diageo by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 4,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Diageo by 4.9% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 2,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DEO. Argus upgraded shares of Diageo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Loop Capital set a $99.00 price target on shares of Diageo in a research report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.67.

Diageo Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of DEO stock opened at $80.39 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.88. 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 52-week low of $72.45 and a 52-week high of $116.41.

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.