Accurate Wealth Management LLC Invests $2.34 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Accurate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 14,597 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,335,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.0% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.7% during the third quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 13,705 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.0% during the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,997 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% during the third quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,008 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, December 18th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 3,836 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.80, for a total transaction of $628,336.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,141,849.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 3,836 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.80, for a total transaction of $628,336.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,141,849.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.1 %

DRI traded up $1.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $165.11. 1,675,947 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,292,270. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.99. The firm has a market cap of $19.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.26. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.86 EPS for the current year.

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 given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.