Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Lowers Holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 2.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock after selling 183 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $1,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DEO. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Diageo by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Diageo during the fourth quarter worth $332,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Diageo during the fourth quarter valued at $2,700,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Diageo by 194.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after buying an additional 7,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA raised its position in shares of Diageo by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 10,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 3,171 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DEO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup raised Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Diageo Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of DEO opened at $135.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $129.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.20. Diageo plc has a one year low of $119.48 and a one year high of $161.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.69.

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 given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.61%.

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.