River Road Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Diageo plc $DEO

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 240,805 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,528 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $20,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Diageo by 90.2% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 46,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,976,000 after buying an additional 21,853 shares during the period. Van Diest Capital LLC purchased a new position in Diageo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $226,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Diageo by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 308,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,646,000 after acquiring an additional 98,642 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Diageo by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Diageo by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 3,116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Price Performance

Shares of Diageo stock opened at $80.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Diageo plc has a 52 week low of $72.45 and a 52 week high of $116.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $81.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DEO shares. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Loop Capital set a $99.00 target price on shares of Diageo in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Monday, April 20th. HSBC cut Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Diageo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.67.

Diageo Company 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.