Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Cuts Stock Holdings in Diageo plc $DEO

Key Points

• Gamco Investors cut its stake in Diageo by 17.7% in Q3, selling 41,528 shares and leaving 193,240 shares worth about $18.44 million.
• Several large institutions materially increased positions — The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company added roughly 1.57 million shares (now ~$158.13M), Equity Investment Corp opened a new position (~$92.97M), and others including Orbis, Arrowstreet and Cullen also made sizable buys, with institutional investors owning 8.97% of the stock.
• Analyst coverage is mixed: the MarketBeat consensus is a "Hold" with a target of $116.50, while shares traded around $81.87 (52-week range $80.79–$116.69) and were slightly down.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its stake in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO - Free Report) by 17.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,240 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,528 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Diageo were worth $18,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DEO. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Diageo by 72,871.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,568,162 shares of the company's stock worth $158,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566,013 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of Diageo during the third quarter valued at about $92,970,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in shares of Diageo by 236.6% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 1,157,991 shares of the company's stock worth $116,772,000 after purchasing an additional 813,973 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Diageo by 353.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 717,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,377,000 after purchasing an additional 559,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Diageo by 67.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,309,258 shares of the company's stock worth $124,943,000 after buying an additional 527,814 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 8.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DEO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Diageo in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Diageo from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. HSBC downgraded shares of Diageo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Diageo from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Diageo currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.50.

Diageo Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Diageo stock opened at $81.87 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.52. Diageo plc has a 52-week low of $80.79 and a 52-week high of $116.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

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.

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