Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 96,145 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $17,949,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.08% of Darden Restaurants at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impact Investors Inc acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $16,373,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 35,950 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $5,901,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI traded down $4.92 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $195.54. 1,578,584 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,147,256. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.28. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $203.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 64.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on DRI. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $192.52.

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.