Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lowered its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,044 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QV Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,373,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 35,950 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,901,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,944,000 after buying an additional 8,480 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $459,216,000 after buying an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at approximately $777,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,034 shares of company stock worth $8,303,692. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $195.44 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $196.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $180.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.48. The company has a market capitalization of $22.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on DRI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial increased 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.52.

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.