American International Group Inc. Has $5.82 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

American International Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,430 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 306 shares during the quarter. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $273,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $153,000. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,282,000. Covenant Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Chilton Investment Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 22,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,676,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on DRI. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.76.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $153.28 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

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

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.