Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Purchases New Position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fragasso Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Diageo by 2.5% during the first quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 2,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in Diageo by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Diageo by 2.4% in the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Diageo by 3.8% in the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DEO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup raised Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2,950.00.

Diageo Stock Down 2.1 %

DEO stock traded down $2.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $130.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 791,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 772,835. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $128.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Diageo plc has a twelve month low of $119.48 and a twelve month high of $171.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.67.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.37%.

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.