Groupama Asset Managment Raises Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,498 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 3,711 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $772,635,000 after acquiring an additional 26,601 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $530,121,000 after buying an additional 39,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted 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 buying an additional 102,888 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Darden Restaurants Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $8.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $192.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,913,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,278,094. The stock has a market cap of $22.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a PEG 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $196.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on DRI. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.08.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants 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.