Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Lowers Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,411 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 3,136 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.05% of Darden Restaurants worth $11,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. The trade was 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 dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. KeyCorp raised 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, March 21st. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $2.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $211.42. 2,316,150 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,302,330. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $198.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.41. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $211.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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 $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

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.