Navellier & Associates Inc. Acquires 1,036 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 31.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,372 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $191.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.83. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $201.94.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.