Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stake Lowered by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI trimmed its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,134 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 87 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth $260,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 19,875 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,635 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $195.54 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $203.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.28.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on DRI shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.