Brokerages Set Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) Price Target at $129.00

Shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $129.00.

DEO has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th.

Diageo Stock Performance

Shares of DEO opened at $107.45 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.99. Diageo has a 12-month low of $105.72 and a 12-month high of $154.71.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 3.8%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diageo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DEO. Canoe Financial LP increased its stake in Diageo by 88,407.3% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 8,113,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,465,000 after purchasing an additional 8,104,301 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,813,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,126,000 after acquiring an additional 571,873 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 234.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,600,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822,994 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 1,181.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,406,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,745,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 13.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,254,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,042,000 after acquiring an additional 147,920 shares in the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.