Bank of New York Mellon Corp Acquires 102,888 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,046,774 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 102,888 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $195,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 17,439 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,862,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.4% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 10,703 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,757,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 141,917 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $23,293,000 after acquiring an additional 8,423 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $194.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $201.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $190.01 and its 200 day moving average is $172.09. 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 (EPS) 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company 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.