Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock Position Decreased by Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 79.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,868 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 7,284 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.4%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $198.15 on Monday. 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 $197.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. TD Securities raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.38.

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.