SPC Financial Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

SPC Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,949 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 78.8% during the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 810 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $416,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $700,210,000 after buying an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 212,134 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $39,603,000 after buying an additional 5,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 373,265 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $69,685,000 after buying an additional 1,946 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $194.86 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $190.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.78. The stock has a market cap of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $203.12.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.