Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Has $758,000 Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. reduced its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 56.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,059 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 5,300 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $642,967,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at about $40,048,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6,456.8% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 185,098 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,556,000 after purchasing an additional 182,275 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $700,210,000 after purchasing an additional 170,336 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 922,849 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $171,288,000 after buying an additional 121,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE DRI traded up $3.22 during trading on Monday, reaching $208.35. 663,940 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,273,495. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $194.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.62. The company has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The business 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DRI. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Securities increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.08.

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.