Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by First Dallas Securities Inc.

First Dallas Securities Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $198.73 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $199.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on DRI. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants 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.