Deutsche Bank AG Buys 81,131 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 591,668 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 81,131 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.51% of Darden Restaurants worth $110,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $205.00. 2,843,334 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,288,031. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $211.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $198.14 and its 200 day moving average is $186.95. The firm has a market cap of $23.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.

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.