Oakworth Capital Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Oakworth Capital Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,242 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 280 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Czech National Bank increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 3,844 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 107.9% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 60,674 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,098,000 after acquiring an additional 31,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 4,327 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $200.50 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $181.95 and its 200-day moving average is $166.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $201.09.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James boosted 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, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.