Gotham Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Gotham Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 45.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,618 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 18,053 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during 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 last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.38.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of DRI traded down $2.72 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $208.93. 909,384 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,302,347. The firm's fifty day moving average is $199.11 and its 200-day moving average is $188.14. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $211.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.