Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 63,359 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 70.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 63,359 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.6% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,839,198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,824,996,000 after buying an additional 236,620 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,916,944 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,071,746,000 after purchasing an additional 100,270 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,463,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $849,726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102,211 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $507,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 45.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $417,935,000 after purchasing an additional 596,863 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $192.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $206.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total value of $1,471,173.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,165,474.24. This trade represents a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970 over the last ninety days. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.