Great Hill Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Diageo plc $DEO

Great Hill Capital LLC grew its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 32.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,092 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,632 shares during the period. Diageo makes up about 0.4% of Great Hill Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Great Hill Capital LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $6,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Diageo in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Diageo by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Diageo by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 212,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,379,000 after buying an additional 10,653 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Diageo by 87.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Diageo in the 2nd quarter worth $444,000. Institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Price Performance

DEO opened at $84.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.31. 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 research analysts have recently issued reports on DEO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Argus upgraded Diageo to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Diageo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane raised Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Six 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

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.