LM Advisors LLC Takes $1.13 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

LM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,067 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,133,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DRI. Impact Investors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $67,001,000 after purchasing an additional 13,074 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $27,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $286,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3%

Darden Restaurants stock traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $214.30. 1,415,696 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,324,366. The firm has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.80. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $215.68.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DRI. Guggenheim increased 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, March 24th. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.38.

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.