Perigon Wealth Management LLC Takes $221,000 Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $772,635,000 after acquiring an additional 26,601 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $587,638,000 after acquiring an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $459,216,000 after buying an additional 17,497 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $386,133,000 after buying an additional 44,464 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.8 %

DRI opened at $198.73 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $199.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $180.93 and its 200-day moving average is $165.88.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DRI. 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 research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

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.