Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 1,270 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 49.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,848 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,111 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,970,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 4,624 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 3,994 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 108,636 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,281,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $191.12 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $22.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $201.94. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.04.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DRI. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to 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.