Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 18,186 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 66.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,117 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 18,186 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $2.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $211.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,316,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,761. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.82. The business's 50-day moving average price is $199.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.94. The firm has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, 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 (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.