Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Boosts Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,602 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 5,351 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 34,638 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.0% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,339 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,823,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 24,972 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,576,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 9,208 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,319,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on DRI. Guggenheim increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:DRI traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $148.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,068,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,181,640. The company has a market cap of $17.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.92. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.43%.

About Darden Restaurants

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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