R Squared Ltd Purchases New Holdings in Diageo plc $DEO

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 4,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DEO. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Diageo in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Diageo in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Diageo in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Diageo in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Diageo by 63.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DEO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Diageo from $117.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.00.

Diageo Stock Down 0.7%

DEO stock opened at $96.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $102.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.50. Diageo plc has a one year low of $93.42 and a one year high of $134.71.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $2.5192 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 516.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This is a boost from Diageo’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.62. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.41%.

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.