Choreo LLC Lowers Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Choreo LLC lowered its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,129 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 798 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 7,913 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,760,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 99,188 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $18,604,000 after acquiring an additional 15,962 shares in the last quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 26,484 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,944,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patron Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DRI. UBS Group raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup reduced 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective for the company. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.0 %

DRI stock opened at $200.41 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $201.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $182.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.75.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

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.