Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Increases Stock Position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. boosted its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 64.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,029 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,196 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $3,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DEO. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Diageo by 88,407.3% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 8,113,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,465,000 after buying an additional 8,104,301 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Diageo in the fourth quarter valued at about $123,892,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Diageo by 9.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,242,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,671,000 after buying an additional 437,646 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of Diageo in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,777,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Diageo by 25.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,116,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,759,000 after buying an additional 229,946 shares during the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diageo Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Diageo stock opened at $108.00 on Friday. Diageo plc has a 52-week low of $105.23 and a 52-week high of $149.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.90. The firm has a market cap of $60.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DEO. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group raised shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.00.

Diageo Company 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.