LPL Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,951 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 13,682 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $15,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Stephens lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.08.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $209.60 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $211.00. 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 capitalization of $24.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $195.61 and a 200 day moving average of $179.32.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

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.