LRT Capital Management LLC Sells 3,257 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

LRT Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 21.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,636 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,257 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants comprises approximately 1.8% of LRT Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. LRT Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $507,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,890 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 32.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,463,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $849,726,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102,211 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $144,483,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $113,301,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 239.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 722,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $157,490,000 after acquiring an additional 509,655 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $211.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.55. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.49%.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.