Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,442 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6,456.8% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 185,098 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $34,556,000 after purchasing an additional 182,275 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 7,228 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,046,774 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $195,422,000 after purchasing an additional 102,888 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,566 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $194.98 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $201.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $190.01 and a 200 day moving average of $172.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents 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 three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.