Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Marco Investment Management LLC

Marco Investment Management LLC cut its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 13,705 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,997 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $3,313,120. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $156.10 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $164.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.53.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.