Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 1,229 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,603 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 28,655 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,336,000 after acquiring an additional 6,258 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,797 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,693,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 11,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,781,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 129,424 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $19,828,000 after buying an additional 21,465 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $186.22 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $189.18. The company has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were 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 owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,034 shares of company stock worth $8,303,692 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.52.

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.