Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI reduced its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,134 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 87 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at $260,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 19,875 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 8.3% in the third quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,635 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $195.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $203.12. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.28.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Raymond James lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.52.

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.