Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 79.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,868 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 7,284 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,293,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $269,117,000 after buying an additional 158,168 shares during the last quarter. Second Half Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $300,446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.9%
DRI stock traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $206.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,635,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,293,397. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $211.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.
Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.38.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Darden Restaurants
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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. Insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About Darden Restaurants
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Free Report)
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.
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