Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stake Increased by Norden Group LLC

Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 98.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,463 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,206 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DRI. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $17,202,000. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,038,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 197,738 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,320,000 after acquiring an additional 34,478 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of DRI traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $153.81. The company had a trading volume of 595,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,136,972. 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 company has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $164.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.68.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $3,313,120. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.