Capital Investment Counsel LLC Invests $4.99 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Capital Investment Counsel LLC opened a new position of 27,099 shares in Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) during Q4, valued at approximately $4.99 million.
• Darden is heavily institutionally owned (about 93.64%), with notable moves such as JPMorgan Chase increasing its stake to 2,666,919 shares (≈$507.7M), indicating strong institutional backing.
• The company posted a slight quarterly EPS beat () of $2.95 vs. $2.94, pays a quarterly dividend of $1.50 (≈3.1% yield), and analysts have a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $226.24.

Capital Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 27,099 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $4,987,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 98.5% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 64,118 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $12,206,000 after acquiring an additional 31,815 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 164.1% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,872 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 3,027 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,536,000. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,743,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $507,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,890 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Weiss Ratings raised Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Stephens boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and set a $207.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $194.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $201.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.49. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $22.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.49%.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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