MGB Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

MGB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,050 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. MGB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,784,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,373,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 35,950 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,901,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 21.9% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,944,000 after purchasing an additional 8,480 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $459,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $194.75 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $22.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $201.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.43.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

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.