322,880 Shares in Diageo plc $DEO Bought by Private Management Group Inc.

Private Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 322,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,855,000. Private Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Diageo as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Diageo by 123.6% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diageo by 8,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diageo during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX purchased a new stake in shares of Diageo during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, GGM Financials LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diageo during the third quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of DEO stock opened at $81.27 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Diageo plc has a twelve month low of $72.45 and a twelve month high of $116.41.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 195.0%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Monday, April 20th. HSBC lowered shares of Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Diageo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.50.

About Diageo

Diageo plc is a global producer, marketer and distributor of alcoholic beverages, headquartered in London, England. The company was created through the 1997 merger of Guinness plc and Grand Metropolitan plc and is publicly traded on multiple exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO) and the London Stock Exchange. Diageo operates a worldwide business, selling products in a broad range of markets across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Diageo’s core activities cover the production, marketing and sale of a diverse portfolio of spirits, beer and liqueurs.