State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 2,535 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,535 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.4 %

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $2.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $190.83. 1,149,022 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,067,537. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. 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 quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $185.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.91.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 46,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.