Comerica Bank Has $7.16 Million Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Comerica Bank trimmed its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,357 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 9,863 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $7,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $642,967,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,137,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 184.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 297,938 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $55,622,000 after purchasing an additional 193,134 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6,456.8% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 185,098 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,556,000 after purchasing an additional 182,275 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $700,210,000 after purchasing an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock traded down $3.55 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $199.13. The company had a trading volume of 877,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,267,392. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $197.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.58. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $211.00. The company has a market cap of $23.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 company's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.38.

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.