Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Bought by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,073 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 731 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $642,967,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $48,919,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 184.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $34,798,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $208.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $211.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.48.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued 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 2.68%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. 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 research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants 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.