AGF Management Ltd. Has $387,000 Holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

AGF Management Ltd. lowered its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 99.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,041 shares of the company’s stock after selling 294,633 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DEO. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 88,407.3% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 8,113,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,031,465,000 after buying an additional 8,104,301 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Diageo during the 4th quarter worth about $123,892,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 105.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 949,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,240,000 after purchasing an additional 487,904 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,242,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $735,671,000 after purchasing an additional 437,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of Diageo during the 4th quarter worth about $37,777,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on DEO. UBS Group raised Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.00.

Diageo Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of DEO opened at $107.55 on Friday. Diageo plc has a 12-month low of $105.72 and a 12-month high of $149.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $114.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.52.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a yield of 3.8%. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio is 46.42%.

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.