USS Investment Management Ltd Trims Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,119 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 6,100 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $6,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

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

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $213.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 276,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,316,121. The company has a market cap of $25.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $201.61 and a 200-day moving average of $190.01. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $215.03.

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 for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

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.