Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 6,042 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 50.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,848 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 6,042 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impact Investors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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 purchasing an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $27,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $16,373,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $207.37. 941,767 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,241,847. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $193.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.56. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $210.47. The stock has a market cap of $24.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid 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 2.70%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Guggenheim upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens upped their price target 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. Raymond James boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.