Bokf Na Has $2.72 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Bokf Na boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,103 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $198.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $23.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $197.47 and its 200 day moving average is $185.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm 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 was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.