Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stake Boosted by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,362 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 909 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens upped their price objective 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 lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This trade represents a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,034 shares of company stock valued at $8,303,692 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $192.50 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $193.13. 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 has a market cap of $22.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $178.01 and its 200-day moving average is $164.07.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

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.