Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Holdings Raised by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 520.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,852 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 15,814 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Impact Investors Inc purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $405,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $67,001,000 after buying an additional 13,074 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $27,343,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $286,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,133,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded up $7.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $224.63. 1,914,191 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,327,599. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $227.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $26.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.83.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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 upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.69.

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.