Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by Valley Wealth Managers Inc.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 108,636 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants accounts for about 1.5% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Darden Restaurants worth $20,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.4 %

DRI stock opened at $190.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.54. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $201.94. The company has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 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.