BNP Paribas Financial Markets Trims Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 34.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,449 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 51,005 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.08% of Darden Restaurants worth $16,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.0% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,274 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Union Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,766,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.8% during the first quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 9,356 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.24.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI traded down $4.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $140.29. 1,512,324 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,194,708. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $16.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $149.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.42. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.50%.

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.