Swiss National Bank Sells 22,500 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 331,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 22,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $61,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,092 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,697,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $411,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,448 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,538 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,795 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock opened at $186.27 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $203.12. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $191.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.51. The firm has a market cap of $21.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DRI. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.