2,900 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Acquired by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,900 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $541,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Impact Investors Inc bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,373,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on DRI. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 61,047 shares of company stock worth $11,947,346. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $192.28 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $196.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.17. The firm has a market cap of $22.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $211.00.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. 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.