Millstone Evans Group LLC Makes New $163,000 Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 875 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $163,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of 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 initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $192.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $203.47.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

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.