Stifel Financial Corp Sells 2,675 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Stifel Financial Corp lessened its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,595 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,675 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $14,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07 % 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 Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,505 shares of company stock valued at $6,667,929. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $199.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.60. The stock has a market cap of $23.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. 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.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective 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 issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.38.

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.