Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Has $22.91 Million Stock Position in Diageo plc $DEO

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 240,076 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,080 shares during the period. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $22,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diageo in the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Diageo during the 2nd quarter valued at about $310,000. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Diageo by 132.2% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,565 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Diageo by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 4,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE DEO opened at $77.37 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $90.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.60. Diageo plc has a 52 week low of $75.77 and a 52 week high of $116.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on DEO. Argus upgraded shares of Diageo to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. HSBC downgraded shares of Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.50.

About Diageo

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.