Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Beacon Financial Group bought a new position in shares of Diageo during the 4th quarter valued at $296,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Diageo by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 677,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,681,000 after purchasing an additional 245,255 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Diageo by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Diageo by 461.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 70,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,506,000 after purchasing an additional 58,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Diageo by 2,128.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 9,068 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research 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 report on Thursday, September 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Diageo has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Diageo Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DEO opened at $134.71 on Friday. Diageo plc has a 12 month low of $119.48 and a 12 month high of $161.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

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 is Friday, August 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.2%.

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.