Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 99.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,021 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 375,479 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth approximately $40,048,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $53,317,000 after purchasing an additional 205,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 81.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $69,125,000 after acquiring an additional 204,832 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $189.12.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE DRI traded down $3.98 on Friday, hitting $179.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,293,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,111,125. The firm has a market cap of $21.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.31. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $174.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.03. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $189.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

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.