Personal CFO Solutions LLC Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Personal CFO Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,097 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impact Investors Inc bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,373,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 35,950 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,901,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DRI. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $189.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $191.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $203.12.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. 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 was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

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.