Fortitude Family Office LLC Raises Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 78.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $58,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the third 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. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth about $72,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $179.75 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $173.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $189.18.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on DRI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.12.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on 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 owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants 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.