Capital International Inc. CA Acquires 35,531 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Capital International Inc. CA lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 133,842 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 35,531 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA owned 0.11% of Darden Restaurants worth $24,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Impact Investors Inc acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,784,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $67,001,000 after acquiring an additional 13,074 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $27,343,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares during the period. Finally, QV Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $16,373,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $201.80. 945,199 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,264,123. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $196.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $211.00.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Stephens raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,505 shares of company stock worth $6,667,929 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.