Stephens Inc. AR Raises Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 1,832.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,077 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 50,331 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $9,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 34.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,975 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 24.5% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 11,181 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth approximately $621,000. CX Institutional increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.2% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 9,099 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cabot Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $1.17 during trading on Thursday, reaching $193.64. 908,307 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,064,728. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $201.94. 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 50-day moving average of $184.73 and a 200-day moving average of $168.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid 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 2.89%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 64.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.52.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company's 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 owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.