Diageo (NYSE:DEO) Raised to “Hold” at Argus

Diageo (NYSE:DEO) was upgraded by Argus to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. HSBC downgraded Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $124.00 price target on Diageo and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Friday, November 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diageo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.50.

Diageo Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of Diageo stock opened at $79.69 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.81. Diageo has a 52-week low of $79.68 and a 52-week high of $116.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diageo

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Diageo during the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Diageo in the second quarter worth about $310,000. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 2.7% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 18,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after buying an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 5,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Company 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.