Moody National Bank Trust Division Has $1.63 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Moody National Bank Trust Division trimmed its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,703 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 401 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $772,635,000 after purchasing an additional 26,601 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $587,638,000 after purchasing an additional 123,900 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $459,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $386,133,000 after buying an additional 44,464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock opened at $182.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $174.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $189.18.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the 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. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started 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 on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.12.

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.