Skba Capital Management LLC Sells 23,250 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Skba Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,720 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 23,250 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants makes up 2.3% of Skba Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Skba Capital Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $14,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Impact Investors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $27,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings 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 worth $6,133,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $1.84 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 986,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,274,931. The stock has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $195.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants 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.