Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lessened its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 93.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,284 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 31,313 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,497,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,760,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $186.19 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $196.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.44. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $211.00. 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 $21.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,047 shares of company stock valued at $11,947,346. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DRI. Barclays increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.38.

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.