Diageo plc $DEO Stake Boosted by ABC Arbitrage SA

ABC Arbitrage SA raised its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 35.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 419,082 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 109,805 shares during the quarter. Diageo makes up 3.9% of ABC Arbitrage SA’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. ABC Arbitrage SA owned approximately 0.08% of Diageo worth $39,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DEO. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in shares of Diageo by 92.9% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 3,276 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 18,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 16,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Diageo by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 231,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,077,000 after purchasing an additional 50,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC bought a new position in Diageo in the 3rd quarter worth about $433,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Trading Up 2.1%

DEO stock opened at $99.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Diageo plc has a one year low of $84.52 and a one year high of $116.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DEO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Diageo from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $124.00 target price on shares of Diageo and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Friday, November 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.50.

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.