Jump Financial LLC Lowers Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Jump Financial LLC reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 88.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,411 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 17,894 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $700,210,000 after purchasing an additional 170,336 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $530,121,000 after buying an additional 39,189 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,046,774 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $195,422,000 after buying an additional 102,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 922,849 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $171,288,000 after acquiring an additional 121,015 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded up $1.98 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $200.80. 1,155,214 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,283,502. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $211.00. 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 company has a market cap of $23.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The business's fifty day moving average price is $197.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.32.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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 seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,505 shares of company stock valued at $6,667,929 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.