Unigestion Holding SA Grows Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Unigestion Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 101.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,830 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 2,930 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 296.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth $526,000. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth $201,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $701,000. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 26,906 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $1.54 during trading on Thursday, reaching $214.71. 835,369 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,322,410. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $218.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.80. The firm has a market cap of $25.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 over the last quarter. 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.