Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Has $9.20 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,016 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,103 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $9,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,852 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 342.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,808 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,719,000 after acquiring an additional 26,945 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $535,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of DRI stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $142.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,163,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,213,411. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $147.35 and a 200 day moving average of $156.62.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, July 19th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.95.

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.