Brokerages Set Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) PT at $116.50

Shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $116.50.

DEO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Diageo from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Friday, November 28th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Diageo in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Argus raised Diageo to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, HSBC cut Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd.

Diageo Stock Performance

NYSE DEO opened at $73.91 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.92. Diageo has a 52 week low of $73.64 and a 52 week high of $116.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 207.0%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diageo

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DEO. Equity Investment Corp purchased a new position in Diageo in the third quarter valued at about $92,970,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Diageo by 7.2% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 726,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,337,000 after purchasing an additional 48,909 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Diageo by 42.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 99,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,099,000 after purchasing an additional 29,674 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Diageo by 0.9% in the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,363,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,119,000 after buying an additional 12,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 353.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 717,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,377,000 after buying an additional 559,547 shares during the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.