Ethic Inc. Has $2.11 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Ethic Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 45.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,282 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 9,332 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth 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 increased its position 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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on DRI. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.38.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 10,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.4%

DRI stock opened at $198.15 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $23.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.50.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

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.