Newport Trust Company LLC Trims Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Newport Trust Company LLC lowered its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,010,438 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 5,578 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants accounts for 0.8% of Newport Trust Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Newport Trust Company LLC owned approximately 1.68% of Darden Restaurants worth $304,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $252,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 766 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. ING Groep NV raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 7,861.3% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 5,971 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $981,000 after acquiring an additional 5,896 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,601,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 62.6% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,255 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 8.3 %

NYSE DRI opened at $172.27 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $20.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $159.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.18.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.