Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Increases Stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 16.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,504 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,488 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $4,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 1,034.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 799,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,443,000 after acquiring an additional 729,166 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Diageo by 416.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 521,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,939,000 after purchasing an additional 420,778 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Diageo by 52.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 853,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,800,000 after purchasing an additional 293,017 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its position in Diageo by 12,174.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 246,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,045,000 after purchasing an additional 244,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Diageo during the third quarter worth about $24,995,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DEO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America raised shares of Diageo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Diageo Stock Performance

NYSE:DEO opened at $124.22 on Friday. Diageo plc has a twelve month low of $119.48 and a twelve month high of $161.64. The company has a market capitalization of $69.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $133.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.21.

Diageo Profile

Diageo plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, marketing, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The company offers scotch, gin, vodka, rum, raki, liqueur, wine, tequila, Chinese white spirits, cachaça, and brandy, as well as beer, including cider and flavored malt beverages. It also provides Chinese, Canadian, Irish, American, and Indian-Made Foreign Liquor whiskies, as well as flavored malt beverages, ready to drink, and non-alcoholic products.