Blue Trust Inc. Raises Stake in Diageo plc $DEO

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 36.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,771 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Diageo by 9.6% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Diageo by 47.6% during the second quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 3,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diageo in the second quarter worth $107,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 23.4% in the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 69,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,988,000 after buying an additional 13,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, H&H Retirement Design & Management INC lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 5.0% in the second quarter. H&H Retirement Design & Management INC now owns 4,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Diageo from $117.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.00.

Diageo Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of DEO opened at $95.77 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $104.27 and its 200 day moving average is $106.05. Diageo plc has a fifty-two week low of $93.42 and a fifty-two week high of $139.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a $2.5192 dividend. This is a boost from Diageo’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.62. This represents a yield of 370.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.