Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by Peddock Capital Advisors LLC

Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,342 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants makes up about 0.8% of Peddock Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 78.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stephens boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.12.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI traded up $2.79 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $182.81. 1,091,127 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,189,240. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.03. The company has a market cap of $21.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $189.18.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

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.