NewEdge Wealth LLC Buys 604 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 980.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Wedbush decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE DRI opened at $153.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $166.56 and its 200-day moving average is $158.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released 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). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.