Synovus Financial Corp Has $14.07 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Synovus Financial Corp decreased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,376 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 3,220 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp owned 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $14,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 8.3% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 35,950 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,901,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth $1,081,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 824.5% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,741 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,687,000 after acquiring an additional 36,334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.38.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company'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 directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,264 shares of company stock valued at $9,058,583. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $2.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $200.03. The stock had a trading volume of 925,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,286,023. 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 has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $211.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.85.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

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.