Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,081 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 805 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $17,202,000. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $1,038,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 197,738 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,320,000 after purchasing an additional 34,478 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of DRI opened at $152.50 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $165.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DRI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wedbush decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

About Darden Restaurants

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.