Dravo Bay LLC Takes $980,000 Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Dravo Bay LLC acquired a new position of 5,323 shares in Darden Restaurants valued at approximately $980,000, representing 0.4% of its portfolio and its 25th largest holding.
• Darden declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 (annualized $6.00) with an ex-dividend date of April 10 and a yield of 3.0%.
• Darden slightly beat quarterly EPS expectations ($2.95 vs. $2.94) with revenue up 5.9% year-over-year, and analysts have an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a mean target of about $226.24.

Dravo Bay LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,323 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $980,000. Darden Restaurants makes up 0.4% of Dravo Bay LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,322 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 211.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 87,276 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $16,061,000 after purchasing an additional 59,250 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 193.3% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 8,771 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 5,781 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,007,000. Finally, Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 13,848 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,548,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.4%

DRI opened at $201.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.64. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $203.60 and a 200 day moving average of $194.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The firm's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Mizuho upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $226.24.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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