151 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Acquired by TCTC Holdings LLC

TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 151 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $187.63 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $203.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.86.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on DRI. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.00.

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.