Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Has $1.83 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. reduced its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,801 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 261 shares during the quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 85,390 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $15,991,000 after acquiring an additional 3,521 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $325,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,994 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $24,832,000 after purchasing an additional 5,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 824.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,741 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,687,000 after buying an additional 36,334 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE DRI opened at $183.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $189.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $172.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its 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 net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (up from $182.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.44.

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.