Stifel Financial Corp Reduces Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Stifel Financial Corp decreased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,595 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,675 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $14,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Impact Investors Inc bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $67,001,000 after acquiring an additional 13,074 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $27,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QV Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $16,373,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.38.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock traded up $3.61 on Friday, hitting $203.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 280,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,276,899. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year 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 stock has a market cap of $23.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $197.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.62.

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 for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

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.