Diageo plc $DEO Shares Sold by Pavion Blue Capital LLC

Pavion Blue Capital LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 31.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,785 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,322 shares during the period. Pavion Blue Capital LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $1,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DEO. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of Diageo in the third quarter valued at approximately $92,970,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its position in shares of Diageo by 236.6% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 1,157,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,772,000 after buying an additional 813,973 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Diageo by 48.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,701,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,410,000 after buying an additional 555,509 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Diageo by 67.5% in the third quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,309,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,943,000 after buying an additional 527,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Diageo in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,889,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of DEO stock opened at $82.14 on Tuesday. Diageo plc has a one year low of $72.45 and a one year high of $116.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $82.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.45.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a yield of 195.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on DEO shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Diageo from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Argus raised shares of Diageo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Diageo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.