Patron Partners LLC Buys 96 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Patron Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,666 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 26,471 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,942,000 after buying an additional 6,595 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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. Willis Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 92,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,325,000 after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 11,638 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 2,704 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of DRI opened at $198.73 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $199.95. The firm has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $180.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.88.

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, 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%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.