Tectonic Advisors LLC Purchases 313 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,913 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lion Street Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,760,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 99,188 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $18,604,000 after buying an additional 15,962 shares in the last quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 26,484 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,944,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 26,471 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,942,000 after acquiring an additional 6,595 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of DRI opened at $200.50 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $201.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $181.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.52. 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 earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.