Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,350 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 185 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DRI. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $24,832,000 after buying an additional 5,816 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,213 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 25,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,756,000 after buying an additional 1,345 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $305,000. Finally, Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 31,265 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,837,000 after buying an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $205.00 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month 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 stock has a market capitalization of $23.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $198.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.95.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.