Diageo plc $DEO Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 82,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,273 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $7,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DEO. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Pavion Blue Capital LLC boosted its stake in Diageo by 0.4% in the second quarter. Pavion Blue Capital LLC now owns 26,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,659,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. boosted its stake in Diageo by 2.0% in the third quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 5,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diageo by 2.0% during the third quarter. Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Diageo by 10.3% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Diageo from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $124.00 target price on shares of Diageo and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Diageo in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.50.

Diageo Stock Performance

NYSE:DEO opened at $100.32 on Monday. Diageo plc has a 12-month low of $84.52 and a 12-month high of $116.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.02.

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.