Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Motco

Motco trimmed its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,157 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,471 shares during the quarter. Motco’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $192,987,000 after purchasing an additional 926,901 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,919,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $71,883,000 after acquiring an additional 227,977 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 184.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 297,938 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,622,000 after buying an additional 193,134 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. This represents a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total value of $1,514,882.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at $3,132,006. The trade was a 32.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,714 shares of company stock valued at $9,609,494. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $204.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $214.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.06. The company has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.10 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 67.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DRI. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 20th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Melius began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.19.

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.