Guggenheim Capital LLC Has $1.24 Million Stock Holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO – Get Rating) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,303 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $1,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DEO. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Diageo by 6.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,647,000 after buying an additional 3,034 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC lifted its holdings in Diageo by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Diageo by 33.5% during the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 6,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on DEO. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price target on shares of Diageo from GBX 4,500 ($54.30) to GBX 4,200 ($50.68) in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Diageo from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Diageo from GBX 4,350 ($52.49) to GBX 4,500 ($54.30) in a research report on Thursday, December 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Diageo from GBX 5,010 ($60.46) to GBX 5,100 ($61.54) in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4,081.00.

Diageo Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DEO opened at $175.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Diageo plc has a 1-year low of $160.09 and a 1-year high of $212.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $177.56 and its 200-day moving average is $176.33.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 18th. Investors of record on Friday, March 3rd will be given a $1.5187 dividend. This is a boost from Diageo’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.43. This represents a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 2nd.

Diageo Profile

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Diageo Plc engages in the production and distribution of alcoholic beverages. Its brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JeB, Buchanan’s, Windsor and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray, and Guinness. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America; Europe and Turkey; Africa; Latin America and Caribbean; Asia Pacific; ISC; and Corporate and Other.