Intech Investment Management LLC Has $1.09 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 50.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,848 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 6,042 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th 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. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,760,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 9,624 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on DRI. UBS Group increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Securities raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $192.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.73. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $203.47. The company has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

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.