Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Grows Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,160 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,160 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,019,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $207.03 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $211.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $24.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $200.00 and a 200 day moving average of $188.61.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.