Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Raises Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 110.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,581 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 12,400 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $772,635,000 after buying an additional 26,601 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $587,638,000 after buying an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $459,216,000 after acquiring an additional 17,497 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $386,133,000 after acquiring an additional 44,464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. The trade was a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.6 %

DRI stock traded down $1.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $194.19. 895,457 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,080,402. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $183.81 and a 200-day moving average of $168.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $201.94.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One investment 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.52.

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.