Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 974,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123,892,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT increased its position in Diageo by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Diageo by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Diageo by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in Diageo by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Diageo by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Diageo Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DEO opened at $112.81 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Diageo plc has a 12 month low of $105.72 and a 12 month high of $151.76.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.