Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 54,785 Shares of Diageo plc $DEO

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 185,291 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,785 shares during the quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $15,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Diageo by 428.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,173,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762,027 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Diageo by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,947,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,989,000 after purchasing an additional 476,979 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Diageo by 48.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Diageo by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 1,371,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,337,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Diageo by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,276,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,824,000 after purchasing an additional 4,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Monday, April 20th. HSBC lowered shares of Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Diageo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.50.

Diageo Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:DEO opened at $80.57 on Wednesday. Diageo plc has a twelve month low of $72.45 and a twelve month high of $116.41. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $81.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.05.

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.