CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Purchases 1,496 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,019 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $209.80 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $211.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $196.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DRI. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants 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.