Swiss National Bank Has $61.94 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 331,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 22,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Darden Restaurants worth $61,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $186.27 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 company has a market cap of $21.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $191.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.51. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $203.12.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DRI. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.