Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Reduces Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,014 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 11,051 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.05% of Darden Restaurants worth $11,764,000 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 the business. United Community Bank increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 221.2% in the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 17,803 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,324,000 after buying an additional 12,260 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 922,849 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $171,288,000 after acquiring an additional 121,015 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 10,827 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 61,530 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $190.20 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $191.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.13. The company has a market capitalization of $22.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $203.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

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.