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

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

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 263.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,453 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after buying an additional 5,401 shares during the period. AA Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 8.9% during the third quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 12,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,979,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares during the period. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 4,048 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $190.83 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.54. The firm has a market cap of $22.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $201.94.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on DRI. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants 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.