Peterson Wealth Services Buys 638 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Peterson Wealth Services raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,873 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1,832.9% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 53,077 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,909,000 after purchasing an additional 50,331 shares during the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,335 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $195.19 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.88. The company has a market cap of $22.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $201.94.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) 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 business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued 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 of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.