Capital International Inc. CA Has $28.17 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Capital International Inc. CA cut its Darden Restaurants stake by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 19,550 shares and ending with 153,059 shares valued at about $28.17 million.
• Other institutional investors were mixed but mostly remained committed, and 93.64% of Darden’s stock is held by institutions and hedge funds. The article also notes a couple of insider sales by senior vice presidents.
• Darden recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.95 per share on revenue of $3.35 billion, and it continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share for an annual yield of about 3.0%.

Capital International Inc. CA reduced its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 153,059 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 19,550 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA owned 0.13% of Darden Restaurants worth $28,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,190 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 15,983 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,941,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 13,425 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,556,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,308 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $198.11 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $22.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $197.57 and a 200-day moving average of $197.56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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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