34,872 Shares in Diageo plc $DEO Acquired by Cantor Fitzgerald L. P.

Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. acquired a new stake in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 34,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,328,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Diageo during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in Diageo in the second quarter worth $310,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Diageo by 132.2% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in Diageo by 22.5% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 41,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,168,000 after buying an additional 7,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Diageo by 9.1% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,341,000 after buying an additional 11,014 shares during the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diageo Stock Down 0.1%

DEO stock opened at $76.86 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $90.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.68. Diageo plc has a 52-week low of $75.77 and a 52-week high of $116.69. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 207.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Diageo to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. HSBC lowered Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $124.00 price objective on Diageo and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.50.

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.