Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $642.97 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,444,036 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $642,967,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 2.94% of Darden Restaurants as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock traded up $2.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $195.06. 1,151,526 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,138,578. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $203.12. The company has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $190.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned 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 target price of $192.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,684,637.36. This trade represents a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.