Fulton Bank N.A. Decreases Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Fulton Bank N.A. decreased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,565 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 1,612 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $700,210,000 after acquiring an additional 170,336 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 39,189 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $300,446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $269,117,000 after purchasing an additional 158,168 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI traded down $1.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $214.71. 835,348 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,322,409. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company's fifty day moving average price is $202.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.80. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $218.22.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Stephens upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants 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.