Ieq Capital LLC Trims Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Ieq Capital LLC trimmed its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 70.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,556 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 3,742 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th 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. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of DRI traded down $4.92 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $195.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,578,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,147,256. The company has a market cap of $22.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $190.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.28. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $203.12. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $192.52.

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.