David Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

David Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,346 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $621,000. CX Institutional lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 9,099 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, QV Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 151.6% during the third quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 84,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,807,000 after buying an additional 50,690 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.6 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $194.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $201.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $183.81 and its 200 day moving average is $168.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

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.