Bowman & Co S.C. Grows Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Bowman & Co S.C. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,065 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Bowman & Co S.C.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $30,000. Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 78.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth $72,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $181.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $175.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.08. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $189.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.31. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,275 shares of company stock valued at $5,913,038 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.12.

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.