AXQ Capital LP Sells 1,518 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

AXQ Capital LP lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,449 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 1,518 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Impact Investors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,784,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $27,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 4th 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. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $207.37. The company had a trading volume of 941,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,241,577. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $210.47. The firm has a market cap of $24.29 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $193.62 and a 200 day moving average of $177.77. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on DRI. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Stephens boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,216 shares of company stock worth $12,808,372 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.