Compass Wealth Management LLC Acquires Shares of 150 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. QV Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,373,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 35,950 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,901,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,944,000 after purchasing an additional 8,480 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $459,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth $777,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One 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 a consensus price target of $190.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,684,637.36. This trade represents a 47.10 % 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 Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,034 shares of company stock worth $8,303,692. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $187.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $189.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $177.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.36.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

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.