Diageo (NYSE:DEO) Shares Gap Up to $136.03

Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $136.03, but opened at $140.46. Diageo shares last traded at $140.04, with a volume of 822,572 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DEO shares. Argus downgraded shares of Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Diageo from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3,778.00.

Diageo Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.61.

Diageo Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th.

Institutional Trading of Diageo

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DEO. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Diageo by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its stake in shares of Diageo by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $752,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Diageo by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Linscomb & Williams Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Diageo by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Linscomb & Williams Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Diageo by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 5,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Company Profile

Diageo plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, marketing, and sale of alcoholic beverages. It offers scotch, gin, vodka, rum, raki, liqueur, wine, tequila, Chinese white spirits, cachaça, and brandy, as well as beer, including cider and flavoured malt beverages. The company also provides Canadian, Irish, American, and Indian-Made Foreign Liquor whiskies, as well as ready to drink and non-alcoholic products.