Copperwynd Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Copperwynd Financial LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,330 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of DRI opened at $186.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $191.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.38. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $203.12.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given 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 yield of 3.01%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DRI. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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 upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.