MTM Investment Management LLC Invests $227,000 in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,215 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at about $621,000. CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.2% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 9,099 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 151.6% in the third quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 84,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,807,000 after purchasing an additional 50,690 shares during the period. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stephens upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $194.75 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $184.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.43. 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 stock has a market cap of $22.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $201.94.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

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.