First City Capital Management Inc. Has $215,000 Stock Position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

First City Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,709 shares of the company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DEO. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Diageo by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,351,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,785,000 after purchasing an additional 154,497 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 0.5% in the second quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 1,366,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,315,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Diageo by 7.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,127,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,165,000 after buying an additional 74,745 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Diageo by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,106,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,504,000 after buying an additional 23,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Diageo by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 931,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,474,000 after acquiring an additional 88,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DEO shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America raised shares of Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Citigroup raised shares of Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Diageo Price Performance

NYSE:DEO opened at $133.03 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.38. Diageo plc has a 1-year low of $119.48 and a 1-year high of $161.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.69.

Diageo Announces Dividend

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