Picton Mahoney Asset Management Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 30,100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $5,619,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $186.27 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 company has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $203.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $191.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.51.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during 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%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.