Forsta AP Fonden Decreases Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.4 %

DRI opened at $195.44 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $22.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $180.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.22. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $196.80.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released 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. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm 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 firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,034 shares of company stock valued at $8,303,692 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Barclays raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.52.

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.