Stevens Capital Management LP Buys 8,740 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Stevens Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 408.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,882 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,740 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants comprises about 0.8% of Stevens Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wedbush boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $192.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.73. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $203.47. The company has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

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

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.