Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 7,219 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,569,729 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 7,219 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 2.15% of Darden Restaurants worth $422,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 324.2% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE DRI traded down $0.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $147.06. 1,557,806 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,184,896. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $162.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.05. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The firm has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.85.

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.