Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,467,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 199,079 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $273,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during 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 during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $209.60 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $211.00. The company has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $195.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Raymond James upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.08.

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.