Farther Finance Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 19.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,257 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,773 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $2,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DEO. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in Diageo by 88,407.3% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 8,113,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,031,465,000 after acquiring an additional 8,104,301 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Diageo by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,242,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $735,671,000 after acquiring an additional 437,646 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Diageo by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,254,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,042,000 after acquiring an additional 147,920 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Diageo by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,116,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,759,000 after acquiring an additional 229,946 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Diageo by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 991,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,141,000 after acquiring an additional 64,367 shares during the period. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diageo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.00.

Diageo Stock Performance

Shares of DEO stock opened at $108.32 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $60.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Diageo plc has a 52-week low of $105.72 and a 52-week high of $151.76.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.42%.

Diageo Company 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.