Czech National Bank Raises Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,906 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 1,429 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $642,967,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $192,987,000 after acquiring an additional 926,901 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $48,919,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 145.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $71,883,000 after acquiring an additional 227,977 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of DRI traded down $1.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $214.71. The company had a trading volume of 835,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,410. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm 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 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $218.22. The company has a market capitalization of $25.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. TD Securities upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.