Empowered Funds LLC Has $2.30 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,335 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 1,840 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $6.18 on Tuesday, reaching $197.37. The stock had a trading volume of 572,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,050,061. The business's 50-day moving average price is $185.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.54. 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 fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $201.94. The stock has a market cap of $23.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.