Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,636 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 4,262 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,081,000. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 824.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,741 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,687,000 after purchasing an additional 36,334 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,293 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $24,832,000 after purchasing an additional 5,816 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,994 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $325,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $199.76. The stock had a trading volume of 881,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,280,801. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.62. The company has a market cap of $23.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $211.00. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.