Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Acquires 129 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,185 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.4 %

Darden Restaurants stock traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $193.20. The stock had a trading volume of 58,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,089,084. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $194.70. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.52.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,034 shares of company stock worth $8,303,692 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.