Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Boosts Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 110.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 23,581 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 12,400 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $772,635,000 after buying an additional 26,601 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $587,638,000 after buying an additional 123,900 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $459,216,000 after buying an additional 17,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $386,133,000 after buying an additional 44,464 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $200.41 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $201.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $182.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.75. The company has a market capitalization of $23.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.