MCF Advisors LLC Buys 59 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 50.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $33,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 78.3% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of DRI opened at $185.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $21.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $189.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $176.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.90. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last released 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,034 shares of company stock worth $8,303,692. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.