Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Sells 6,630 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management cut its Darden Restaurants stake by 38.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,630 shares and leaving it with 10,565 shares valued at about $1.94 million.
• Several other institutional investors were active in the stock, with JPMorgan Chase, Wellington Management, AQR Capital Management and Capital World Investors all increasing positions; institutions now own 93.64% of Darden’s shares.
• Darden reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $2.95 and revenue of $3.35 billion, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, equal to a 3.1% annualized yield.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 38.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,565 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 6,630 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $507,675,000 after buying an additional 1,171,890 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,463,786 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $849,726,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102,211 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 239.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 722,529 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $157,490,000 after acquiring an additional 509,655 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at $57,948,000. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.6% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,839,198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,824,996,000 after acquiring an additional 236,620 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE DRI opened at $196.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $200.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.77. The company has a market capitalization of $22.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The firm'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 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DRI. Weiss Ratings raised Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Stephens upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. KeyCorp upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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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