Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Decreases Stock Holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. decreased its holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 84,143 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,721 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $10,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Canoe Financial LP raised its position in Diageo by 88,407.3% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 8,113,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,031,465,000 after buying an additional 8,104,301 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Diageo by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,242,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $735,671,000 after buying an additional 437,646 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Diageo by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,254,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,042,000 after buying an additional 147,920 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in Diageo by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,215,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,623,000 after buying an additional 284,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Diageo by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,116,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,759,000 after purchasing an additional 229,946 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DEO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.00.

Diageo Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DEO opened at $108.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $117.39 and a 200 day moving average of $124.98. The company has a market cap of $60.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Diageo plc has a 12-month low of $105.72 and a 12-month high of $151.76.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.42%.

About Diageo

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.