Earnest Partners LLC Buys 4,454 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants makes up about 1.3% of Earnest Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $300,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth about $1,081,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 824.5% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,741 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,687,000 after acquiring an additional 36,334 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $24,832,000 after purchasing an additional 5,816 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,994 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $325,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,505 shares of company stock valued at $6,667,929. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $199.08 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00. The firm has a market cap of $23.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $196.69 and its 200-day moving average is $183.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

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.