Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY Acquires 125 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY raised its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,495 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth $260,000. HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 10,703 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 141,917 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $23,293,000 after buying an additional 8,423 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $200.72 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $201.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $190.27 and a 200-day moving average of $172.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $23.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 64.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.