Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Buys 842 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,707 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $7,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 9,624 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $187.63 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $203.12. The firm has a market cap of $21.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $191.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.86.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 2.98%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. The trade was a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.00.

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.