Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Buys 9,698 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3,730.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,958 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 9,698 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants makes up about 0.7% of Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 4.2 %

DRI opened at $192.28 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.03. The company has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants 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.