First Eagle Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 43,609 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,891 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $5,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canoe Financial LP raised its position in shares of Diageo by 88,407.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Diageo by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,242,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,671,000 after purchasing an additional 437,646 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Diageo by 13.4% during 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Diageo by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,116,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,759,000 after buying an additional 229,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Diageo by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 991,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,141,000 after buying an additional 64,367 shares during the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diageo Price Performance

Diageo stock opened at $107.55 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $114.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.52. Diageo plc has a 1 year low of $105.72 and a 1 year high of $149.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a yield of 3.8%. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on DEO. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.00.

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.