Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,784 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 373,265 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $69,685,000 after buying an additional 1,946 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,384 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,007 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $302,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $194.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $190.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $203.12.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

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.