Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,437 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $642,000.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DRI. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $772,635,000 after buying an additional 26,601 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $700,210,000 after acquiring an additional 170,336 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $459,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,497 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,046,774 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $195,422,000 after purchasing an additional 102,888 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Darden Restaurants Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $7.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $192.80. 1,257,478 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,278,668. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $211.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $196.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.08.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on DRI
Darden Restaurants Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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