Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 16,351 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 30.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,891 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 16,351 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $6,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $194.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.38.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was 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 61,047 shares of company stock worth $11,947,346. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.