Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Makes New $104,000 Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 558 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $104,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $241,121,000 after acquiring an additional 772,907 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,048,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $587,638,000 after purchasing an additional 123,900 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on DRI shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $194.75 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $184.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.43. The company has a market capitalization of $22.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $201.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

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.