Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Boosts Stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 16.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,504 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,488 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $4,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Diageo by 7.0% during 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 stake in shares of Diageo by 0.5% during the second quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 1,366,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,315,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Diageo by 7.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,127,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,165,000 after buying an additional 74,745 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Diageo by 2.2% during 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 period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Diageo by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 931,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,474,000 after buying an additional 88,159 shares during the period. 8.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on DEO. Bank of America raised shares of Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diageo has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Diageo Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE DEO opened at $124.22 on Friday. Diageo plc has a 12 month low of $119.48 and a 12 month high of $161.64. The company has a market capitalization of $69.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

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.