Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 378.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,188 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 4,896 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $642,967,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,919,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $71,883,000 after acquiring an additional 227,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 184.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 297,938 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $55,622,000 after acquiring an additional 193,134 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock traded up $0.54 on Thursday, reaching $203.68. 2,844,411 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,314,967. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $200.34 and a 200-day moving average of $188.71. The firm has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $211.82.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 directly owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DRI. Stephens upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report 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 report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants 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.