Amalgamated Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,569 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 623 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $200.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $23.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $190.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.50. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $201.94.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

About Darden Restaurants

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.