Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Diageo plc $DEO

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 67.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,677 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,666 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DEO. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Diageo by 12.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 463,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,513,000 after buying an additional 49,504 shares during the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. boosted its stake in Diageo by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 169,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,588,000 after acquiring an additional 21,446 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in Diageo by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 186,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,861,000 after acquiring an additional 17,241 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Diageo by 53.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,372,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,124,000 after acquiring an additional 477,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Diageo by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 160,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,948,000 after acquiring an additional 13,928 shares in the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DEO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Diageo in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Loop Capital set a $99.00 price objective on Diageo in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Diageo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Diageo in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Diageo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Diageo Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DEO opened at $89.19 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $88.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Diageo plc has a 1-year low of $72.45 and a 1-year high of $111.19.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 252.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th.

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.