Rhumbline Advisers Has $44.95 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 240,763 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,959 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $44,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at $40,048,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $587,638,000 after purchasing an additional 123,900 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $190.83 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $201.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $185.60 and its 200-day moving average is $169.54. The firm has a market cap of $22.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.