1,214 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Acquired by Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,214 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impact Investors Inc acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 13,074 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $286,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $0.37 on Tuesday, hitting $217.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,255,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,711. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $202.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.45. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $218.18. The company has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.58%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.38.

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.