1,801 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Purchased by Bay Capital Advisors LLC

Bay Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,801 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 93.8% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,890 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,952,000 after buying an additional 5,756 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,944,000 after purchasing an additional 8,480 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 11.2% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 14,534 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth about $5,514,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $208.84 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.21. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $210.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.