Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 10,550 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 10,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,970,000.

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

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.0 %

DRI stock opened at $194.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $201.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.52.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Company 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.