Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Has $10.58 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB reduced its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,688 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,497,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 11.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $194.75. 797,998 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,070,314. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a fifty day moving average of $184.28 and a 200-day moving average of $168.43. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-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.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.