Trexquant Investment LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Diageo plc $DEO

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP reduced its holdings in Diageo plc by 19.4%, owning 16,598 shares valued at approximately $1.74 million after selling 4,003 shares in the first quarter.
• Diageo has declared a semi-annual dividend of $2.5192 per share, which represents a yield increase to 370.0% from the previous dividend of $1.62.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 8.97% of Diageo's stock, with notable increases in holdings from other investors like BNP Paribas Financial Markets, which raised its position by 1,544.5% during the same period.

Trexquant Investment LP cut its stake in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO - Free Report) by 19.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,598 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,003 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Diageo were worth $1,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DEO. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Diageo by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,540,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $195,883,000 after acquiring an additional 3,876 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Diageo by 3.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,441,300 shares of the company's stock worth $151,034,000 after purchasing an additional 42,740 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diageo by 0.7% during the first quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,184,987 shares of the company's stock worth $124,175,000 after purchasing an additional 8,521 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Diageo by 9.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,069,567 shares of the company's stock worth $112,080,000 after buying an additional 95,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd boosted its stake in Diageo by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 623,534 shares of the company's stock worth $79,270,000 after buying an additional 3,919 shares in the last quarter. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Diageo from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Diageo presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $129.00.

Diageo Stock Performance

Shares of Diageo stock traded down $0.76 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $104.24. 769,435 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 984,805. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Diageo plc has a 1 year low of $96.45 and a 1 year high of $142.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.22, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.91.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be paid a $2.5192 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 370.0%. This is an increase from Diageo's previous semi-annual dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. Diageo's dividend payout ratio is 46.42%.

About Diageo

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.