Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock Holdings Cut by Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC

Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,980 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in 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. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in 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. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $1,546,437.40. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $195.19 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $183.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.88. The company has a market cap of $22.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $201.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released 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 net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.