Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 25.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 5,167 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,168,604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $167,359,000 after buying an additional 418,860 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 27.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,602,543 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $229,516,000 after acquiring an additional 340,467 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 129.6% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 553,721 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $90,976,000 after purchasing an additional 312,531 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $45,321,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $239,148,000 after purchasing an additional 202,139 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on DRI shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.67.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI opened at $147.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $156.15 and a 200-day moving average of $160.31. 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.

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

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

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.