Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 199,079 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,467,116 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 199,079 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 1.25% of Darden Restaurants worth $273,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.9% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,615 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $821,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 21,843 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,585,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 548.6% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 22,700 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,726,000 after purchasing an additional 19,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at approximately $420,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $8.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $192.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,913,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,281,026. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $211.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $196.38 and a 200 day moving average of $179.68.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on DRI. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.