Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,841 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 990 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares in 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at $40,048,000. 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 at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $200.50 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $23.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $181.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.52. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $201.09.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.15%.

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.