Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Raises Stock Holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,994 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Diageo were worth $1,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DEO. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Diageo by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 79,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,577,000 after acquiring an additional 30,578 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new stake in Diageo in the fourth quarter worth $246,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Diageo by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 586 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Diageo in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Diageo by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diageo Price Performance

DEO stock traded down $1.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $140.91. The stock had a trading volume of 420,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,868. Diageo plc has a 52 week low of $135.63 and a 52 week high of $190.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $146.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Diageo Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus downgraded Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. BNP Paribas downgraded Diageo from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3,797.50.

Diageo Company Profile

Diageo plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, marketing, and sale of alcoholic beverages. It offers scotch, gin, vodka, rum, raki, liqueur, wine, tequila, Chinese white spirits, cachaça, and brandy, as well as beer, including cider and flavoured malt beverages. The company also provides Canadian, Irish, American, and Indian-Made Foreign Liquor whiskies, as well as ready to drink and non-alcoholic products.