Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC cut its holdings in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,279 shares of the company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Diageo by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Diageo by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Diageo by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 856,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,817,000 after purchasing an additional 14,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in Diageo by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 5,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 2,160 shares during the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diageo Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE DEO opened at $128.76 on Thursday. Diageo plc has a 12-month low of $119.48 and a 12-month high of $161.64. The company has a market cap of $71.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.27.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DEO. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Diageo 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.