Step Capital Management Pte. Ltd. Buys Shares of 8,000 Diageo plc $DEO

Step Capital Management Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $690,000. Diageo comprises 0.3% of Step Capital Management Pte. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in Diageo by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. boosted its position in Diageo by 2.0% in the third quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 5,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Diageo by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 4,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Diageo by 2.0% during the third quarter. Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Diageo by 4.9% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 2,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DEO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $124.00 price objective on Diageo and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Diageo from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. HSBC downgraded Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.50.

Diageo Stock Performance

Shares of Diageo stock opened at $73.35 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $86.08 and its 200 day moving average is $89.79. Diageo plc has a one year low of $72.45 and a one year high of $116.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

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

About Diageo

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.