Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 33,784 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,546 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $6,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $200.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $211.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $195.96 and a 200-day moving average of $181.85.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DRI. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.38.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This trade represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,264 shares of company stock valued at $9,058,583. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.