Gabelli Funds LLC Raises Stake in Diageo plc $DEO

Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 15.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 659,821 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89,771 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $49,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of Diageo by 10.2% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 186,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,861,000 after acquiring an additional 17,241 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 52.9% in the first quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 15,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 5,288 shares during the period. Keebeck Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Diageo in the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Diageo by 317.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 63,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,747,000 after purchasing an additional 48,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Infusive Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Diageo by 2.5% in the first quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,461,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DEO opened at $83.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.22 and a 200 day moving average of $83.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Diageo plc has a 52 week low of $72.45 and a 52 week high of $116.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DEO. Loop Capital set a $99.00 target price on Diageo in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Diageo 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.