Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock Holdings Lessened by Caprock Group LLC

Caprock Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,311 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,065 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $199.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $181.45 and its 200-day moving average is $166.28. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $200.90. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.