Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,098 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $851,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,019,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,199 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,760,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Darden Restaurants Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $1.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $214.71. The stock had a trading volume of 835,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,410. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $218.22. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $202.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.80. The company has a market capitalization of $25.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms have recently issued reports on DRI. Barclays upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.38.
Read Our Latest Research Report on DRI
Insider Activity
In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company's 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Darden Restaurants Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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