Intrust Bank NA Decreases Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Intrust Bank NA lowered its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,313 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 2,330 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 9.9% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,615 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 74,065 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,041 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 121.1% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,903 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.5 %

DRI stock opened at $204.89 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $211.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221. Corporate 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.