Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. Reduces Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. reduced its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,635 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,770 shares during the period. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 324.2% during the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock worth $3,313,120 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Stephens initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.4 %

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $155.49. The stock had a trading volume of 960,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,144,303. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $18.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $164.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.53.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

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.