Xponance Inc. Has $3.98 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Xponance Inc. lessened its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,335 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 616 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 660,875 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $123,377,000 after purchasing an additional 43,934 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $423,000. Mystic Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,394,000. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $394,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $119,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.33.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $198.66 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $203.47. The company has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $191.67 and its 200 day moving average is $176.31. 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, meeting 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.82%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 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.