Skba Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Skba Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,720 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 23,250 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants makes up 2.3% of Skba Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Skba Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $14,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.0% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,207,000 after buying an additional 2,330 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,615 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 74,065 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,041 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 8.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 121.1% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,903 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $204.89 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $211.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.62.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.08.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221 over the last quarter. 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.