Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Purchased by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 266,934 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 36,563 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned approximately 0.23% of Darden Restaurants worth $55,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,019,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,199 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,760,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $1.54 during trading on Thursday, hitting $214.71. 835,368 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,333,371. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $202.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.80. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $218.22.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DRI. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.

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.