Oxford Asset Management LLP Sells 1,423 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Oxford Asset Management LLP reduced its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 54.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,192 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 1,423 shares during the period. Oxford Asset Management LLP's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $700,210,000 after purchasing an additional 170,336 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $530,121,000 after buying an additional 39,189 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,282,666 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $239,466,000 after acquiring an additional 116,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,046,774 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $195,422,000 after acquiring an additional 102,888 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of DRI traded up $3.98 on Friday, reaching $203.84. The stock had a trading volume of 820,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,271,412. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $211.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.07.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.