Meridian Wealth Management LLC Makes New $2.40 Million Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Meridian Wealth Management opened a new position in Darden Restaurants, buying 13,062 shares valued at about $2.4 million in the fourth quarter.
• Darden reported slightly better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $2.95 per share and revenue of $3.35 billion, while raising revenue 5.9% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.0%; analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $226.24.

Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,062 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,404,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,839,198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,824,996,000 after acquiring an additional 236,620 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,063,355 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,587,939,000 after acquiring an additional 43,965 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,463,786 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $849,726,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102,211 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $507,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,890 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,904,022 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $362,848,000 after acquiring an additional 19,819 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.8%

DRI opened at $199.30 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $199.15 and a 200-day moving average of $194.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.24.

About Darden Restaurants

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.