Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Sells 53 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,963 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 53 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th 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. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $191.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $187.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $201.94.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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