Toronto Dominion Bank Acquires 109,212 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 70.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 264,548 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 109,212 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank owned 0.23% of Darden Restaurants worth $49,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impact Investors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $67,001,000 after purchasing an additional 13,074 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $286,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $211.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $211.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $199.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.94.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial upped their price target 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. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.