TD Asset Management Inc Has $26.17 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 142,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,486 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.12% of Darden Restaurants worth $26,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $2,404,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 23,473 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,319,000 after acquiring an additional 5,830 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $507,675,000 after buying an additional 1,171,890 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth $6,743,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 177.3% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,547 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 8,022 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 13th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Stephens boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock opened at $198.11 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $197.57 and its 200-day moving average is $197.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $22.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.00 and a twelve month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 63.49%.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.