Toronto Dominion Bank Increases Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 70.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 264,548 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 109,212 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank owned 0.23% of Darden Restaurants worth $49,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3,236.8% during the 4th quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,880 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,405,000 after buying an additional 12,494 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 378.9% during the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,188 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 4,896 shares during the last quarter. Sig Brokerage LP purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $893,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $71,883,000 after purchasing an additional 227,977 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 10,933 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.8%

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $3.71 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $203.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,696,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,308,849. 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 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $211.82. The stock has a market cap of $23.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $200.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.