Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock Position Decreased by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. reduced its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,335 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 616 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.33.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $198.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $203.47. The stock has a market cap of $23.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

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.