Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. decreased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 56.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,059 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 5,300 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 2,330 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.2% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 14,534 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,615 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 240,488 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $39,471,000 after buying an additional 37,128 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DRI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $207.90 on Friday. 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 $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.98. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,022 shares of company stock worth $13,183,803 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.