Coldstream Capital Management Inc. Acquires 66 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,199 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $198.78 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $211.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $196.84 and its 200 day moving average is $184.21. The company has a market cap of $23.26 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stephens lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.38.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,505 shares of company stock worth $6,667,929 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

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.