Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO – Get Rating) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $4,034.44.

Several equities analysts have commented on DEO shares. HSBC lowered their price objective on Diageo from GBX 4,800 ($57.72) to GBX 4,500 ($54.11) in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Diageo from GBX 4,350 ($52.31) to GBX 4,500 ($54.11) in a research report on Thursday, December 1st. Erste Group Bank downgraded Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Diageo from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Diageo from GBX 5,010 ($60.25) to GBX 5,100 ($61.33) in a research note on Friday, January 27th.

Institutional Trading of Diageo

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DEO. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Diageo by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 100,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Diageo by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 1,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in Diageo by 1,964.3% during the 4th quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Diageo by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in Diageo during the 4th quarter worth $766,000. 9.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diageo Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:DEO opened at $169.46 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.91. Diageo has a twelve month low of $160.09 and a twelve month high of $212.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Diageo Increases Dividend

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

About Diageo

(Get Rating)

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.