Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Position Reduced by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,242 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 134 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $194.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.38.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 61,047 shares of company stock valued at $11,947,346. Corporate 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.