Keybank National Association OH Sells 3,431 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Keybank National Association OH lowered its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,841 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 3,431 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of DRI traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $195.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,368,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,143,676. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $190.99 and a 200 day moving average of $174.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $22.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $203.12.

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Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced 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 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on DRI shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wedbush upped their target price 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. Citigroup lowered 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $192.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 $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 worth $9,850,129 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.