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

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,970,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 4,624 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 3,994 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 108,636 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,281,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $194.84 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $201.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued 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 return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DRI. Barclays upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is 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.