J.Safra Asset Management Corp Grows Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 78.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 810 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in 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 during the period. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Raymond James increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $194.86 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $203.12. The company has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $190.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Darden Restaurants Company 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.