Modera Wealth Management LLC Makes New $302,000 Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Modera Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,615 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised 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 worth $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $241,121,000 after buying an additional 772,907 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth about $40,048,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6,456.8% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 185,098 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,556,000 after buying an additional 182,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $587,638,000 after buying an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded up $2.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $195.06. 1,151,526 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,138,578. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $203.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $190.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % 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. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average 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.