Virtu Financial LLC Acquires 21,853 Shares of Diageo plc $DEO

Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 90.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 46,086 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,853 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $3,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van Diest Capital LLC bought a new position in Diageo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $226,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Diageo by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 308,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,646,000 after buying an additional 98,642 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Diageo by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,000 after buying an additional 1,975 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 3,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 1,481.6% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 68,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,947,000 after buying an additional 64,581 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on DEO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research note on Monday, April 20th. 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 raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. HSBC lowered Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital set a $99.00 target price on Diageo in a report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.67.

Diageo Price Performance

Shares of DEO stock opened at $80.39 on Friday. Diageo plc has a 52-week low of $72.45 and a 52-week 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $81.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.88.

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.