Whittier Trust Co. Reduces Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Whittier Trust Co. decreased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,393 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $192.08 and a 200-day moving average of $176.60. The firm has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $203.47. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.36.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.