Integrated Advisors Network LLC Acquires Shares of 1,199 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,199 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $700,210,000 after buying an additional 170,336 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $530,121,000 after acquiring an additional 39,189 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $300,446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $269,117,000 after acquiring an additional 158,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $214.30. 1,415,696 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,323,530. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $202.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $215.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86% 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 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.