Mizuho Securities USA LLC Grows Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 45.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,136 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,454 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $208.84 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $192.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.21. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $210.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $24.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 valued at $8,536,729 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.