Inlet Private Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 1,287 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Inlet Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $195.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.36. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $196.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,034 shares of company stock worth $8,303,692. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DRI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.