Capital Analysts LLC Sells 295 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Capital Analysts LLC decreased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,148 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 295 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 980.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,723 shares of company stock worth $2,578,122 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Wedbush cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of DRI traded down $1.42 on Tuesday, hitting $152.64. 65,330 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,142,122. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $18.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.59.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly 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). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants 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.