Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Bought by Nordea Investment Management AB

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 939.1% in Q4, buying 62,063 shares to hold 68,672 shares worth about $12.68 million (0.06% of the company).
• Darden reported Q results with $2.95 EPS (beat) and $3.35B revenue (up 5.9% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 ($6.00 annualized, ~3.0% yield; ex-dividend April 10).
• Insiders sold roughly 18,770 shares over the last three months (including the CFO and SVP), while analysts hold a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $226.24.

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 939.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,672 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 62,063 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $12,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $200.35 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $23.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $207.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 13th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $226.24.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total value of $1,450,448.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $849,761.28. This trade represents a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

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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