Diageo (NYSE:DEO) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $108.31, but opened at $113.81. Diageo shares last traded at $114.04, with a volume of 222,158 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on DEO. UBS Group upgraded Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diageo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.00.

Diageo Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.51.

Diageo Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diageo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in Diageo by 88,407.3% during 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,813,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $739,126,000 after acquiring an additional 571,873 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake 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 worth $330,627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822,994 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,540,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,883,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Diageo by 1,181.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,406,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,745,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296,285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

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.