Optimist Retirement Group LLC Sells 14,104 Shares of Diageo plc $DEO

Optimist Retirement Group LLC decreased its position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 63.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,104 shares during the quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Equity Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of Diageo during the third quarter valued at $92,970,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Diageo by 236.6% during the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 1,157,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,772,000 after acquiring an additional 813,973 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Diageo by 48.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,701,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,410,000 after acquiring an additional 555,509 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diageo by 67.5% during the third quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,309,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,943,000 after acquiring an additional 527,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Diageo by 2,282.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 438,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,303,000 after acquiring an additional 419,844 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DEO opened at $85.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.23. Diageo plc has a 52-week low of $72.45 and a 52-week high of $116.41.

Diageo Announces Dividend

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. This represents a dividend yield of 195.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DEO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Diageo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Monday, April 20th. HSBC cut shares of Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.50.

About Diageo

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.