Arkadios Wealth Advisors Acquires 3,911 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,304 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,911 shares during the quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.4% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,275 shares of company stock worth $5,913,038 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $181.58 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.97. The stock has a market cap of $21.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $189.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.12.

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.