Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP trimmed its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 83.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,069 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 46,294 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.5 %

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $3.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $204.89. The company had a trading volume of 798,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,775. The stock has a market cap of $24.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $211.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $194.15 and a 200 day moving average of $177.98.

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Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. 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 2.73%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value 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 approximately $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their target price 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. UBS Group upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, 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. One investment 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.08.

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.