Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 25,839 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.2%, selling 25,839 shares and finishing the quarter with 588,293 shares worth about $108.26 million (≈0.51% of the company).
• Darden slightly beat quarterly expectations with EPS $2.95 (vs. $2.94) and $3.35 billion in revenue, and declared a $1.50 quarterly dividend (annualized $6.00) implying a ~3.1% yield.
• Analysts remain mostly positive—18 Buys vs. 9 Holds—with a consensus target of $226.24 and several firms recently raising price targets into the $226–$232 range.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 588,293 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 25,839 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.51% of Darden Restaurants worth $108,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE DRI opened at $191.38 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $204.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $21.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.64. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,787,992. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,967 shares of company stock valued at $2,536,092. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $226.24.

About Darden Restaurants

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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