Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,221 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $200.72 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.92. The company has a market cap of $23.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $201.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.52.

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.