Guardian Partners Inc. Purchases New Shares in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 47,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,945,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Diageo during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Eastern Bank boosted its position in Diageo by 107.8% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diageo in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Diageo in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diageo in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 8.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diageo Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:DEO opened at $107.09 on Friday. Diageo plc has a 12-month low of $105.23 and a 12-month high of $149.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $59.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.68.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DEO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group upgraded Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.