Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 13,888 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 809,108 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 13,888 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $111,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Romano Brothers AND Company bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $270,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 47,257 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,973,000 after acquiring an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 22,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,794,000 after buying an additional 6,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,045 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 12,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total value of $1,974,179.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,488,086.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 2,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $345,495.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $826,150. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 12,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total transaction of $1,974,179.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,488,086.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,611 shares of company stock worth $14,887,160 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 24th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $157.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 24th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, March 15th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.23.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $161.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.96 and a 12 month high of $163.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.31. The stock has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.23.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.10. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 45.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 7.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 10th were paid a $1.21 dividend. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 6th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.19%.

About Darden Restaurants

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Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company, which engages in the provision of restaurant services. It operates through the following segments: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining, and Other Business. The Olive Garden segment is the largest full-service dining Italian restaurant operator.