Peddock Capital Advisors LLC Has $2.65 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Peddock Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,507 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,204 shares during the period. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Union Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DRI. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Raymond James lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.95.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.6 %

DRI stock traded down $0.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $143.36. The company had a trading volume of 768,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,216,941. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $145.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.87. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $17.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

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.