Equity Investment Corp Has $98.12 Million Position in Diageo plc $DEO

Equity Investment Corp boosted its position in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,137,390 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 163,168 shares during the quarter. Equity Investment Corp owned 0.20% of Diageo worth $98,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Logan Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,562,000 after buying an additional 3,468 shares during the period. Burkett Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Diageo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,804,000. Cowa LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diageo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Private Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Diageo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,855,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after buying an additional 3,116 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Stock Performance

Shares of DEO stock opened at $81.27 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.26. 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 12 month low of $72.45 and a 12 month high of $116.41.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a yield of 195.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DEO. Argus upgraded shares of Diageo to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. HSBC cut shares of Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.