Hamlin Capital Management LLC Sells 917 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Hamlin Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 777,016 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 917 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants makes up approximately 3.6% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $145,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank grew 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 buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 78.3% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth about $72,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.12.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE DRI opened at $181.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $189.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $175.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.45.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.15%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,275 shares of company stock valued at $5,913,038 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.