Royal Fund Management LLC Sells 29,495 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Royal Fund Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 48.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,179 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 29,495 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $269,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 27.9% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 28,655 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,336,000 after purchasing an additional 6,258 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.3% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 23,087 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,494,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 42.3% in the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.5% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 71,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on DRI. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,275 shares of company stock valued at $5,913,038 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $181.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $189.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $175.97 and its 200 day moving average is $162.45.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The company 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.