Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $155.23 Million Position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,221,015 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,378 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Diageo were worth $155,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 88,407.3% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 8,113,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,465,000 after acquiring an additional 8,104,301 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Diageo in the fourth quarter valued at about $123,892,000. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of Diageo during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,777,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Diageo by 25.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,116,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,759,000 after purchasing an additional 229,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Diageo by 3,073.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 209,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,635,000 after buying an additional 202,908 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on DEO. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Diageo in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.00.

Diageo Trading Down 3.5 %

DEO opened at $104.19 on Friday. Diageo plc has a twelve month low of $103.70 and a twelve month high of $145.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $110.12 and a 200-day moving average of $121.06. The stock has a market cap of $57.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a yield of 3.8%. Diageo’s payout ratio is currently 46.42%.

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.