Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stake Raised by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,813 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 10,858 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $13,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,615 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 8.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 21,843 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,585,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 548.6% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 22,700 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,726,000 after buying an additional 19,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at about $420,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI traded down $8.97 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $200.60. The company had a trading volume of 2,082,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,278,508. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $211.00. The firm has a market cap of $23.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.68.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

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.