Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by Arkadios Wealth Advisors

Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 7.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,393 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 12.0% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 5,017 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 42.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,020 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,675,000 after acquiring an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 186,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,681 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 75,206 shares of company stock valued at $12,460,313. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $2.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $159.92. The company had a trading volume of 691,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,235. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.60. The stock has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

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.