Guardian Partners Inc. Buys New Position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 47,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,945,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT raised its holdings in Diageo by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Diageo by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Diageo by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Diageo by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Diageo by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DEO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Diageo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.00.

Diageo Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of DEO opened at $107.09 on Friday. Diageo plc has a 1 year low of $105.23 and a 1 year high of $149.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.68. The stock has a market cap of $59.57 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. Diageo’s payout ratio is presently 46.42%.

Diageo Profile

Diageo plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, marketing, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The company offers scotch, gin, vodka, rum, raki, liqueur, wine, tequila, Chinese white spirits, cachaça, and brandy, as well as beer, including cider and flavored malt beverages. It also provides Chinese, Canadian, Irish, American, and Indian-Made Foreign Liquor whiskies, as well as flavored malt beverages, ready to drink, and non-alcoholic products.