UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Boosts Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 587,571 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 30,909 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.50% of Darden Restaurants worth $109,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $213.23. The company had a trading volume of 664,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,317,048. 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 stock has a market cap of $24.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $215.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $201.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.17.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company'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 transaction of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last three months. 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.