Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $184.91 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holding to 1,004,851 shares valued at about $184.9 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with SVP Lindsay L. Koren and SVP Douglas J. Milanes both selling shares in April, including Milanes reducing his ownership by nearly 93%.
• Darden reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.95 and revenue of $3.35 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average target price of $226.88.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,004,851 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 43,794 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.87% of Darden Restaurants worth $184,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $198.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $22.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.60. The business's fifty day moving average is $197.57 and its 200 day moving average is $197.38.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Bank of America raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $226.88.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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