Metis Global Partners LLC Grows Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,973 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was 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 owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $192.42 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $190.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.63. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $203.12. The company has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.