1,161 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Purchased by Trek Financial LLC

Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,161 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth 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. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $186.19 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $21.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.44. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,684,637.36. This trade represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 61,047 shares of company stock worth $11,947,346. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DRI shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.38.

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.