Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Purchased by Americana Partners LLC

Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,484 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $190.83 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $185.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $201.94. The company has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on DRI shares. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.52.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.