1,790 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Bought by Waverly Advisors LLC

Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,790 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $334,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $700,210,000 after buying an additional 170,336 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $530,121,000 after purchasing an additional 39,189 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $300,446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $269,117,000 after purchasing an additional 158,168 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI traded up $0.14 on Friday, hitting $213.85. 172,393 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,317,200. The business's fifty day moving average is $201.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.48. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $216.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.38.

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.