10,550 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Bought by Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,550 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,970,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,048,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $587,638,000 after purchasing an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $3.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $191.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,385,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,118,371. The company has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $201.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $187.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 64.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 report on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.52.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.