Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Acquires 758 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,795 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $7,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.8 %

DRI opened at $187.69 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.52. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $189.18. The stock has a market cap of $21.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This trade represents a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’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 owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,034 shares of company stock valued at $8,303,692. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on DRI. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.52.

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.