Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Has $1.19 Million Stock Holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. trimmed its position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,364 shares of the company’s stock after selling 445 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $1,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in Diageo by 88,407.3% during the 4th 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 period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 437,646 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Diageo by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,254,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,042,000 after buying an additional 147,920 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Diageo by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,116,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,759,000 after acquiring an additional 229,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Diageo by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 991,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,141,000 after acquiring an additional 64,367 shares in the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diageo Trading Down 0.8 %

DEO stock opened at $107.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $112.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.68. Diageo plc has a one year low of $105.23 and a one year high of $149.44. The stock has a market cap of $59.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.