Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Marks Group Wealth Management Inc

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,419 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,432 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants makes up about 0.9% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $9,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th 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. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on DRI. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens upped their price target 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $194.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

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.