Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Position Trimmed by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,846 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,191 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,014 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,271 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 119.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 29,524 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were 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 owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, 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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Argus cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.95.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $145.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,596,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,221,923. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 65.73%.

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.