4,339 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Acquired by Crux Wealth Advisors

Crux Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,339 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $810,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 19,439 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,627,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares in the last quarter. F M Investments LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 409.6% during the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 11,232 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,097,000 after acquiring an additional 9,028 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 13,060 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,438,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $286,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:DRI traded up $0.21 on Tuesday, reaching $199.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,105,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,286,303. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $211.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $195.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.49. The firm has a market cap of $23.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.38.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at $2,684,637.36. The trade was a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,264 shares of company stock worth $9,058,583 in the last three months. 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.