Virtu Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,372 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 786 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $199.92 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $203.47. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $192.08 and a 200 day moving average of $176.85.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.