Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Lowers Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich reduced its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,725 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 643 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned about 0.05% of Darden Restaurants worth $11,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Andra AP fonden bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $6,142,000. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $642,967,000. First Business Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,247 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,100,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 842 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $195.06 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $203.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $190.99 and its 200 day moving average is $174.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.