Allied Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Allied Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 63,564 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,520 shares during the quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $8,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in shares of Diageo by 88,407.3% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 8,113,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,465,000 after purchasing an additional 8,104,301 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Diageo by 105.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 949,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,240,000 after buying an additional 487,904 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Diageo by 9.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,242,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $735,671,000 after buying an additional 437,646 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in Diageo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,777,000. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 30.5% during the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,215,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,623,000 after acquiring an additional 284,046 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DEO. UBS Group raised shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.00.

Diageo Stock Performance

NYSE:DEO opened at $107.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Diageo plc has a fifty-two week low of $105.72 and a fifty-two week high of $154.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $120.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.79.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a yield of 3.8%.

About Diageo

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.