Rhumbline Advisers Has $44.95 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 240,763 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 3,959 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.21% of Darden Restaurants worth $44,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 21,173 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,953,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,882 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,031,000 after acquiring an additional 3,429 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 109,373 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $20,419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,032 shares during the period. Finally, SFE Investment Counsel bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $667,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on DRI. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James raised their target price 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. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $3.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $191.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,385,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,118,371. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $201.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $22.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.64.

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 for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 2.93%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other 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 transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.