Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Sells 31,313 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 93.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,284 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 31,313 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $426,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $6,810,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $8,373,000. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 43,600 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,140,000 after buying an additional 2,859 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $261,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 6,233 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,164,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,047 shares of company stock valued at $11,947,346. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI traded up $4.89 during trading on Monday, hitting $199.36. 184,659 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,281,606. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $195.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.14. The company has a market cap of $23.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $211.00. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors 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 yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research 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 research note on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.38.

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.