BNP Paribas Financial Markets Raises Stock Holdings in Diageo plc $DEO

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 118.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 685,110 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 371,929 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.12% of Diageo worth $59,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 3.5% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 2,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 4,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 4.9% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 2,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Stock Performance

NYSE:DEO opened at $79.42 on Wednesday. Diageo plc has a one year low of $72.45 and a one year high of $116.41. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.97.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 195.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DEO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Argus upgraded Diageo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Diageo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Five equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.50.

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.