Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 1,276 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. decreased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,813 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,276 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $700,210,000 after buying an additional 170,336 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $530,121,000 after purchasing an additional 39,189 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,282,666 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $239,466,000 after purchasing an additional 116,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,046,774 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $195,422,000 after purchasing an additional 102,888 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $200.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $211.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $196.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.10.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,505 shares of company stock worth $6,667,929. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.38.

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.