Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,213 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $772,635,000 after acquiring an additional 26,601 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $587,638,000 after acquiring an additional 123,900 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $459,216,000 after acquiring an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $386,133,000 after purchasing an additional 44,464 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $182.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $189.18.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DRI. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.12.

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.