O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,882 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $642,967,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $75,137,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6,456.8% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 185,098 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,556,000 after buying an additional 182,275 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $700,210,000 after acquiring an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 922,849 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $171,288,000 after acquiring an additional 121,015 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded down $8.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $192.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,913,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,278,094. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $196.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.03. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on DRI. Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens raised 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. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.