Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 27.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,351 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diageo in the 1st quarter worth about $125,474,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in Diageo by 4,665.2% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 482,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,312,000 after purchasing an additional 472,583 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Diageo by 416.0% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 521,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,939,000 after buying an additional 420,778 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Diageo by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 677,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,681,000 after buying an additional 245,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in Diageo by 12,174.6% during the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 246,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,045,000 after buying an additional 244,223 shares in the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Diageo Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Diageo stock opened at $135.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Diageo plc has a twelve month low of $119.48 and a twelve month high of $161.64.

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 given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.2%. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.61%.

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.