American Century Companies Inc. Has $32.30 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 69.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,026 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 391,612 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Darden Restaurants worth $32,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.5 %

DRI opened at $204.89 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $194.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $211.00. The company has a market cap of $24.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

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.