Cresset Asset Management LLC Sells 10,233 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Cresset Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 76.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,223 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 10,233 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $602,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of DRI opened at $205.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. 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 fifty day moving average price is $198.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.95. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.