Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lowered its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 30.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,798 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 11,997 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $67,001,000 after purchasing an additional 13,074 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,164,000 after buying an additional 3,677 shares during the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $286,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,882 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,405,000 after buying an additional 1,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 164,342 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,681,000 after buying an additional 32,273 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DRI. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $207.13 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.21 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $24.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $214.15 and its 200-day moving average is $201.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares in the company, valued at $32,645.76. The trade was a 98.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,714 shares of company stock worth $9,609,494. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.