DRW Securities LLC Increases Position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

DRW Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,227 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Diageo by 7.0% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,351,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,785,000 after buying an additional 154,497 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Diageo by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 1,366,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,315,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Diageo by 7.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,127,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,165,000 after purchasing an additional 74,745 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Diageo by 2.2% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,106,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,504,000 after purchasing an additional 23,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Diageo by 10.5% in the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 931,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,474,000 after purchasing an additional 88,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Stock Up 1.9 %

DEO stock opened at $135.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $75.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $129.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Diageo plc has a 12 month low of $119.48 and a 12 month high of $161.64.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.2%. Diageo’s payout ratio is 72.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Diageo Company 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.