Swiss National Bank Has $61.91 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 376,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 12,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $61,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 324.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $149.25 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $17.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.88.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

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.