Sowell Financial Services LLC Invests $2.20 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,602 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,203,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,019,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 9,624 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.9%

DRI traded down $2.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $222.75. 2,671,668 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,327,388. The stock has a market cap of $26.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $227.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $206.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.04.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.68% and a net margin of 8.96%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Stephens raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $178.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued 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 a consensus target price of $212.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

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

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.