Crestline Management LP Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Crestline Management LP bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,654 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $682,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Impact Investors Inc bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,784,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $67,001,000 after purchasing an additional 13,074 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $27,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QV Investors Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $16,373,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE DRI traded up $1.15 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $205.00. 2,843,334 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,288,031. The stock has a market cap of $23.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $211.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $197.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.82.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

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.