Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth $40,048,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6,456.8% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 185,098 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,556,000 after purchasing an additional 182,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $587,638,000 after purchasing an additional 123,900 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $192.42 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $203.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $190.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.63. 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 earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.52.

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.