Czech National Bank Grows Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,345 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 78.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at $72,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,275 shares of company stock worth $5,913,038. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.12.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.5 %

DRI opened at $181.06 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $189.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $175.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.47. The company has a market cap of $21.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.