Moody National Bank Trust Division Sells 401 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Moody National Bank Trust Division lessened its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,703 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 401 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,048,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,317,000 after buying an additional 205,450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.12.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $182.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $174.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $189.18.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio 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.