Stephens Inc. AR Sells 15,639 Shares of Diageo plc $DEO

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 41.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,410 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,639 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Diageo were worth $1,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DEO. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diageo in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 17.0% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 5.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 212,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,653 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Diageo by 87.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diageo in the second quarter worth $444,000. 8.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diageo Price Performance

NYSE DEO opened at $84.20 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.48. Diageo plc has a 1 year low of $72.45 and a 1 year high of $116.41.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Diageo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Diageo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.50.

Diageo 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.