Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. Has $4.94 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,484 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants makes up 3.1% of Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $241,121,000 after buying an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,959,000 after buying an additional 375,292 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at $40,048,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $587,638,000 after acquiring an additional 123,900 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,684,637.36. The trade was a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $199.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $23.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $200.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.28.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

About Darden Restaurants

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.