National Bank of Canada FI Sells 53,635 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 49.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,399 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 53,635 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Impact Investors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,784,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $27,343,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $16,373,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,133,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $4.77 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $190.19. 324,131 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,282,638. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $196.14 and a 200 day moving average of $180.72. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $211.00. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $22.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 61,047 shares of company stock valued at $11,947,346. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities 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 MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.38.

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.