Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lowered its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,129 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 938 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 13,705 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,997 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $151.15 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $164.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.82. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

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.