Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 4,695 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,744,441 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,695 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Darden Restaurants worth $2,565,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value 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 approximately $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of DRI opened at $207.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $210.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stephens lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.