Bay Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Bay Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,801 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DRI. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $219,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 461,828 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $86,219,000 after buying an additional 4,517 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 408.0% during the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 10,882 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,032,000 after buying an additional 8,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 83,951 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $15,673,000 after acquiring an additional 13,682 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, 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 directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,698 shares of company stock valued at $8,536,729. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $192.60 and a 200-day moving average of $177.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $210.47.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants 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.