Andra AP fonden Invests $6.14 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Andra AP fonden acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 32,900 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $6,142,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Stephens boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $195.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. 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 50 day moving average price of $190.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.35. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $203.12.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.15%.

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.