LPL Financial LLC Buys 7,402 Shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 425,429 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,402 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.08% of Diageo worth $54,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DEO. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Diageo during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Eastern Bank boosted its position in Diageo by 107.8% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Diageo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Diageo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Diageo during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DEO has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.00.

Diageo Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DEO opened at $105.39 on Friday. Diageo plc has a 1 year low of $104.59 and a 1 year high of $149.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50-day moving average is $111.82 and its 200-day moving average is $122.10. The company has a market capitalization of $58.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65.

Diageo Announces Dividend

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