Martingale Asset Management L P Trims Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Martingale Asset Management L P lessened its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,091 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 501 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $642,967,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,137,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 184.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 297,938 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $55,622,000 after purchasing an additional 193,134 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6,456.8% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 185,098 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $34,556,000 after buying an additional 182,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $700,210,000 after buying an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $191.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $211.00. The stock has a market cap of $22.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $196.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.86.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,684,637.36. The trade was a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,047 shares of company stock valued at $11,947,346. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on DRI. TD Securities increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.38.

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.