Hancock Whitney Corp Sells 2,328 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 56.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,830 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,328 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 30,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,986,000 after buying an additional 8,619 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,901,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 206.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,204,000 after purchasing an additional 33,066 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $838,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $172.74 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $151.48 and its 200 day moving average is $153.18.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DRI. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Argus cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.