Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,795 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,480 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 221.2% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 17,803 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,324,000 after acquiring an additional 12,260 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $205,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 922,849 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $171,288,000 after acquiring an additional 121,015 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 10,827 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $190.20 on Thursday. 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 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $203.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants 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.