Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,498 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,711 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $209.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $211.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day moving average is $195.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.32.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

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.