CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Increases Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,825 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 8,154 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.09% of Darden Restaurants worth $20,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,505 shares of company stock valued at $6,667,929 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.4 %

DRI traded down $0.85 on Wednesday, reaching $201.80. 945,199 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,285,653. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $23.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One 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, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.38.

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.