Cwm LLC Acquires 424 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Cwm LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,509 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.9% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 34,638 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16.2% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 27,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,909,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 11,875 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,701,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 5,101 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 6,589 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of DRI opened at $151.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.82.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DRI. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were 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 $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.