Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 66.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,117 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 18,186 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $61,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $214.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,415,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,324,366. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $215.68. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $25.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $202.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.80.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company 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.