Aviso Financial Inc. Sells 238,671 Shares of Diageo plc $DEO

Aviso Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 98.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,966 shares of the company’s stock after selling 238,671 shares during the quarter. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DEO. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Diageo by 234.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,600,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,822,994 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Diageo by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,540,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,883,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Diageo by 3.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,441,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,034,000 after purchasing an additional 42,740 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Diageo by 0.7% in the first quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,184,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,175,000 after purchasing an additional 8,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in Diageo by 9.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,069,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,080,000 after purchasing an additional 95,037 shares during the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.00.

Diageo Stock Down 0.2%

DEO stock opened at $110.75 on Tuesday. Diageo plc has a twelve month low of $96.45 and a twelve month high of $142.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $61.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $104.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.73.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $2.5192 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 370.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This is an increase from Diageo’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.62. 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.