Apollon Wealth Management LLC Has $1.18 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 204.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,312 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 4,236 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. CWM LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 34.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,975 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth approximately $621,000. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.2% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 9,099 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, QV Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 151.6% during the third quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 84,122 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $13,807,000 after acquiring an additional 50,690 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on 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 price objective on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $2.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $190.83. 1,149,022 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,067,537. The business's 50 day moving average is $185.15 and its 200-day moving average is $168.91. The company has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $201.94.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

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.