Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Purchased by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,975 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 3,090 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 452.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 7,154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,336,000 after buying an additional 5,860 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $275,000. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,651 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,177,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 8,603 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $203.68. 2,844,411 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,315,467. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $211.82. The stock has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $200.66 and a 200-day moving average of $189.02.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.