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 fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,636 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,257 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants makes up approximately 1.8% of LRT Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. LRT Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 196 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

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

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $211.42 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.55. The company has a market cap 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. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.88.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.