Westpac Banking Corp Has $74,000 Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 74.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,139 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $74,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Impact Investors Inc acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,784,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,343,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,373,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $192.28 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $196.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.08.

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.