Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Holdings Boosted by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 8.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,802 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 920 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $700,210,000 after purchasing an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $530,121,000 after buying an additional 39,189 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $300,446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $269,117,000 after acquiring an additional 158,168 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $222.75 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $207.08 and its 200-day moving average is $195.23. The company has a market cap of $26.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $226.98.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its 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 business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.68% and a net margin of 8.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 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 value of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% 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 worth $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.