Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 191 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,092 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $411,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,448 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,538 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,795 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,480 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.9 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $187.63 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $21.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $203.12.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.00.

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.