Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 133 Shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,473 shares of the company’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DEO. Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in Diageo by 88,407.3% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 8,113,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,465,000 after purchasing an additional 8,104,301 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Diageo in the fourth quarter valued at about $123,892,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Diageo by 105.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 949,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,240,000 after purchasing an additional 487,904 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Diageo by 9.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,242,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,671,000 after purchasing an additional 437,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in Diageo in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,777,000. Institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Diageo stock opened at $112.81 on Monday. Diageo plc has a 1 year low of $105.72 and a 1 year high of $151.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.32. The company has a market capitalization of $62.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DEO shares. UBS Group upgraded Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.00.

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.