Vontobel Holding Ltd. Decreases Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,723 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 285 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SFE Investment Counsel bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $667,000. MGB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $227,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 19,983 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,731,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $270,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,684,637.36. The trade was a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $197.04 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $186.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.12. The stock has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $201.94. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

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.