2,203 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Acquired by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,203 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $411,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.00.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $188.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $203.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $191.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.07.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 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 business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

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.