Advisor Resource Council Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,593 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $700,210,000 after buying an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $530,121,000 after purchasing an additional 39,189 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $300,446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $269,117,000 after purchasing an additional 158,168 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on DRI. KeyCorp raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $219.27.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $221.12. 1,685,738 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,332,354. The company has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $209.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.84. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.06%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.