Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases 419,844 Shares of Diageo plc $DEO

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 2,282.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 438,237 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 419,844 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.08% of Diageo worth $35,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Diageo by 48.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,701,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,410,000 after purchasing an additional 555,509 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,547,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,690,000 after purchasing an additional 121,008 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 67.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,309,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,943,000 after purchasing an additional 527,814 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,276,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,824,000 after purchasing an additional 4,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Diageo by 236.6% in the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 1,157,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,772,000 after acquiring an additional 813,973 shares during the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DEO. HSBC lowered shares of Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Diageo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Monday, April 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.50.

Diageo Trading Up 2.6%

Diageo stock opened at $83.81 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.60. Diageo plc has a fifty-two week low of $72.45 and a fifty-two week high of $116.41.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 195.0%.

Diageo Profile

Diageo plc is a global producer, marketer and distributor of alcoholic beverages, headquartered in London, England. The company was created through the 1997 merger of Guinness plc and Grand Metropolitan plc and is publicly traded on multiple exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO) and the London Stock Exchange. Diageo operates a worldwide business, selling products in a broad range of markets across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Diageo’s core activities cover the production, marketing and sale of a diverse portfolio of spirits, beer and liqueurs.